


How times have changed

by Marshy_17



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Bisexual Steve Harrington, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Gay Will Byers, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Lesbian Robin Buckley, M/M, One-Sided Will Byers/Mike Wheeler, Slow Burn, Steve Harrington Has Bad Parents, Steve Harrington-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2020-08-10 12:53:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 40,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20135770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marshy_17/pseuds/Marshy_17
Summary: After fighting against Russians and interdemensional monsters (again), Steve Harrington's life now involves babysitting a bunch of kids, a mind-numbing job with his best friend and most surprisingly, Jonathan Byers. The last person he ever thought he'd want to spend time with.





	1. How Do You Sleep?

**Author's Note:**

> So this first chapter is way angstier than I was planning but I promise the majority of this is a lot happier! (Also timeline wise, it's set after the final but before the epilogue bit? Because they ain't moving! We're ignoring that)

The dark was overwhelming. Bright flashes of light blinked in and out of his vision. Angry faces appear inches from his face and he tries to get away but something is restricting that. Saws and other metal instruments appear, making his heart beat anxiously. The sight of the needle coming menacingly closer is too much and Steve wakes with a gasp. Bolting upright in bed he pants and takes in his surroundings. The sweaty sheets are tangled around his legs and shafts of sunlight are illuminating the familiar sight of his room. Focusing on these surroundings, he tries to calm his breathing and push the dream out of his head.

Collapsing back on the pillows he counts each breath in and out. Staring at the ceiling, he looks for the cobwebs hanging down and promises himself to get a duster later on in the day. Contemplating the list of cleaning jobs he needs to do to keep the house decent, he is startled out of it when the sound of footsteps on the tiles downstairs reaches him. Leaping out of bed he grabs his bat from under the bed and cautiously creeps out of his room. Leaning around the door frame he scans the corridor and stairs for signs of life. Seeing nothing, he slowly edges down the stairs. Hearing footsteps coming his way he takes a deep breath and leaps around the corner, raising the bat threateningly.

A high pitched scream is emitted at this threat and he lowers the bat as he takes in the sight of his mother standing in the hallway. "Steve!" She shrieks and the heavy stomp of his father is heard. "What on earth do you think you're doing, scaring your mother like that?" He shouts, getting up in Steve's face and pulling the bat from his hands. "You could do some real damage with something like this! It's not some toy you know." His father criticises. "Aw baby what happened to your face?" His mother asks acting concerned, she grabs his chin and twists his face around to examine the bruises. Steve tries not to flinch as her acrylic nails dig into his skin. "Doesn't matter." Steve mutters pulling his face out of her grasp. "You look like someone beat the crap out of you." His father sneers, to which Steve just grunts and turns away heading back towards the stairs. "Do not walk away from me." His father shouts grabbing onto Steve's arm. "What do you care?" Steve shouts back. "What happened to my son? I used to actually be proud of you and now look at you." His father scoffs, eyeing Steve up and down disappointedly. The words are like a punch to the gut, but he swallows and then looks his father in the eyes. "I don't want you to be proud of me then, because unlike before I actually quite like myself at the moment." Steve spits back at him, pulling his arm out of his grasp and marching up the stairs trying to ignore his father swearing insults at his back.

He makes it until his door is slammed closed behind him till he collapsed against it, sinking to the floor, sobs racking his body. He pulls his knees close to his chest, trying to ground himself in something, anything. Time drags on and it feels like forever before he can suck in a breath and feel somewhat in control again. As soon as he can, he grabs the nearest clothes off his floor and dresses. Taking a deep breath he opens his door, grabs his shoes and car keys from the bowl and he's out the front door.

The rev of the engine is comforting and he turns the stereo up loud till he can't hear the thoughts yelling in his head. He drives around aimlessly and gets a few horns honked in his direction from his lack of attention. After a while the streets look familiar again and he realises with a start that he's ended up outside Robin's house. Cutting the engine leaves a deafening silence that he can't stand so he stumbles out of the car and up towards her door. He knocks on the door and realises if her mother answers the door he is in no fit state to make conversation.

The door swings open and he lets out a sob of relief when Robins sleepy face appears on the other side. "Steve?" She asks worriedly "What are you doing here? It's like six am." Suddenly coming here feels like a mistake and he takes a step back. "Fuck is it? I'm sorry, it's fine, I'll go, don't worry about it." He stutters out and starts to stumble back towards the car. "Hey dingus! That's not what I meant." She calls out to him, running down the path after him. "Are you okay?" She asks softly once she's stood in front of him. "No." Steve murmurs and suddenly feels all the morning's emotions surge up again and just sobs, falling into her open arms and clutching at her like a lifeline. "Shhh it's gonna be okay." She whispers comfortingly.

"Okay let me grab some clothes and then we'll go out somewhere, have some fun?" She says once he's calmed down again, making him realise that she's stood out here in the street in her sleep wear. "Yea." He says with a weak laugh. "Come on then." Robin says gesturing towards the house and striding in. "What about your parents? I can wait in the car it's fine" Steve asks worriedly, eyes scanning the house for signs of them. "They'll be fast asleep, we'll be in and out before they're up." Robin says confidently, lacing her fingers in Steve's and pulling him inside. "Oh yea, like you were I suppose?" He whispers as he's pulled up the stairs towards her room. The silence drags out for a second too long. "I was already awake." She says like its not a big deal. "Nightmares?" He asks softly and she just murmurs in agreement.

They make it into her room without incident and she goes round collecting clothes out of drawers and the wardrobe, while Steve watches awkwardly. "Turn around then. God, I thought you were a gentleman." Robin grumbles lightheartedly. "Ha ha you're hilarious." Steve snarks back, but turns around anyway. He stares at the posters up on her walls (at least the ones he can see without turning around) and the little ornaments and momentos scattered around. Her room feels like a home. "Right, let's go." She says tapping him on the shoulder. "Do you need to tell your parents?" He asks and she grimaces. "Eugh, I should probably leave a note or something." She says distractly while searching around for some paper and a pen.

They make it to the downstairs hall, before they both froze at the sound of movement upstairs. When an upstairs door opens they race out of the house, giggling as they go. Clambering into the car, they make their escape and for the first time all morning they both feel okay, even if it is only temporary.


	2. Hang out with you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So updates won't normally be this quick but I'm excited to get this started so I hope you lovely people enjoy x

Time was dragging on. Steve had already swept the floor, faced up the shelves and was now counting down the minutes till he could lock the door and cash up. Robin had left nearly an hour ago, being on a shorter shift today, as she was going out for a meal with her family for her grandfather's birthday. The bell rings and he intently hates whoever is coming into the store five minutes before closing. 

"Steve! You are still here, I wasn't sure if I was going to catch you." Joyce says hurrying up to him. "Hi Mrs Byers." Steve says with a smile, relieved that it wasn't going to be an annoying customer. "I've told you before it's Joyce dear." She corrects fondly and Steve laughs. "How have you been?" She asks and he shrugs "Alright I guess." She looks intently at him and he knows she's taking in the fading but still very present bruises and the dark bags under his eyes. "Really?" She asks softly. "Well okay, I guess I haven't been sleeping brilliantly lately." He admits and she grimaces understandingly and squeezes his hand. "You can always come to me about anything you know. I'm here for you Steve." She says and it hits him that his own mother has never once made him feel this mothered. "Thanks." He replies softly. "How about you?" He asks cautiously and he can see the surge of emotion on her face and regrets bringing it up. "It's been tough," she says with a sniff and blinks away tears "but you needn't worry about me, I'll be fine." She says positively and Steve smiles, impressed at her resilience.

"Anyway, god I'm taking up your time and I've only got a ten minute break myself." She says starting to ramble. "What can I do for you?" Steve asks amused. "Well please don't feel under pressure to say yes, but I'm working till late tonight and so is Jonathon, as he's back at his internship with the newspaper, so Will would be home alone. I know it's been a year but what with everything recently, l worry and I know he gets anxious on his own in that house sometimes. So really I was wondering if you could keep him company for a bit? I'd pay you of course! Not much, we can't afford it but it's…" she rambles. "That's not a problem Mrs Byers." Steve says interrupting her, knowing she would carry on for much longer than necessary. "You would? Oh you are a lifesaver Steve!" She says happily pulling him into a hug. "Also don't worry about the money, it's not like I'd be doing anything else tonight." Steve assures her. "Oh I wouldn't expect that from you." She says and then glances up at the clock, "Shit I need to get back really." Steve glances up too, realising the store can now be closed so he can lock up and get the hell out. "Don't worry, I'll head over once I've locked up here okay?" He reassures her. "Thank you so much!" She says and with a last wave she hurries back out to get back to her store. Steve yawns and stretches, then walks over to the door, flicking the sign to closed and locking it. Cashing up only takes another five or ten minutes as it's been a quiet day and then he's out and makes his way to the Byers household. 

He drives along the roads carefully, as it's a bit of a bumpy track and he cannot afford to kill his suspension. He parks up next to the house and sees the lights on through the curtains. He trudges up to the door and knocks. He waits for a few minutes with no response. "Who is it?" A timid voice calls out. "Hey buddy it's Steve." He calls out and hears the chain moving and the bolt being undone. "Hey Steve." Will says and opens the door wider to let him inside. "How you doing?" Steve asks while Will locks the door behind him. "Fine." Will replies and they both stand there awkwardly for a minute, unsure how to proceed. "I'm guessing your Mom told you I was coming over?" He asks. "Yea she phoned." Will replies and Steve internally groans, he's used to chatty kids like Dustin. His stomach grumbles and he glances at his watch. "Have you eaten?" Steve asks, praying he says no so he has something to do. Will shakes his head and Steve thanks whatever god is in his favour tonight. "Mom thought she'd be back in time." Will clarifies. "Ah, she doing overtime then?" Steve asks, moving into the kitchen and Will nods.

"Okay then. Dinner. What do you fancy?" Steve asks, scanning the kitchen and considering what he could make. Will shrugs, "What can you cook?" He asks, eyeing him up doubtfully. "This lack of faith is very hurtful Will." Steve jokes and starts rummaging in cupboards for supplies. "Ooh how about Sloppy Joes?" Steve asks and Will grins "Definitely." So Steve starts piling the ingredients on the counter. "You got a radio around here? Have some music while we cook?" He asks hopefully and Will nods heading into the other room to grab it. Once that's playing, he's starting to feel a bit more at home and comfortable. "Right can I trust you to peel these nicely?" He asks handing some vegetables and a grater to Will. "Course. Easy peasy." He says and picks up the grater, beginning carefully. 

They quickly fall into an easy rhythm and Steve starts humming and swaying along to the latest hits playing. He notices Will sniggering and gives him a look before launching into an enthusiastic rendition of Uptown Girl, making Will burst out laughing giving Steve a surge of pride. Soon everything is cooking and most of the awkwardness is gone between them. 

Once the food is served up, they sit at the table and Will looks warily at the plate. "It won't bite you, you know." Steve says through a mouthful of food. Cautiously he takes a bite and clearly decides it is in fact edible as he begins shoveling the rest into his mouth. "Wow you actually can cook." Will says sounding very surprised. "Course I can!" Steve says indignantly, food flying everywhere "but only for people I like, so don't go around telling everyone." He says conspiratorially, making Will giggle. 

Once their plates are licked clean, they decide to get one of the old board games out and sprawl out on the floor with it. It's about halfway through the game, when there's a knock on the door "Will? Mom? I'm home." Jonathon calls through the door and Will leaps up to let him in. "Hey!" Will says pulling him into a hug. "Hey buddy. Where's Mom?" He asks, which is when Steve pops up from lying on the floor. "Working overtime, so you got me instead." He says. Jonathon spins around at the sound of his voice, looking shocked. "Oh." He says. "Steve's been keeping me company." Will tells him happily. "Okay… well you don't need to stick around now that I'm back." Jonathon tells him and Steve just shrugs. "It's fine, we've still got a game to finish haven't we?" Steve says and Will runs back over to the board. Jonathon looks wary at him, but Steve gives him a slight smile reassuringly. "Alright, I'll be in my room then." Jonathon says and Steve nods, going back over to Will. 

Once his door had closed Steve looked at Will, "I don't think your brother likes me." He says. Will looks deep in thought for a minute, then looks up at Steve intently. "I don't know. I just think you two have a lot of history." He says. "Ha! That's an understatement. I don't blame him, like I can't forgive what I did how can I expect him to?" Steve says, sounding like he'd given up any hope a long time ago. "Have you ever asked him?" Will asks. "What?" Steve asks surprised. "Have you actually said 'I'm sorry, can you forgive me?'" Will asks looking at Steve like he was a complete idiot, which he thinks may be true if he's getting advice from twelve year olds. If only he didn't have such a good point. "Okay maybe not in those words." Steve admits reluctantly. "Do it then. Jonathon's not perfect, he'll understand. But you can't just assume he knows what you're thinking." Will says, sounding much older than he is. "You really are Will the Wise aren't you?" Steve says grinning and Will just beams at him. "Go on then." Will says shooing him away. "Now?" Steve says panicked and Will just nods laughing at him.

Steve reluctantly clambers up, trying to work himself up into actually going and talking to him. He could feel the sweat on his palms but he knew he couldn't back down now. His stomach was fluttering, but he still knocked on Jonathan's door. "Yea?" He calls from inside and taking a deep breath, Steve pushes open the door. Jonathon has since changed into comfy, casual clothes rather than his smart work outfit and was sat on the bed. "Everything okay?" Jonathon asks looking confused at his presence. "Yeah, I just… can we talk?" Steve asks awkwardly. "Okay?" Jonathon says warily and shuffles across the bed to make space for Steve to sit. He awkwardly perches on the edge of the bed and the silence is deafening, he just can't get the words out. Jonathon flicks his eyes nervously from watching Steve to looking anywhere else in his room. 

"So I have been reflecting on certain things recently and I guess I never properly apologized for everything that I did back before… you know, everything happened. I was an asshole and I really hate myself for some of the things I said to you. So I am sorry, and I hope that you might be able to forgive me at some point?" Steve says staring at his feet and twiddling his fingers nervously. There is a heavy pause where Jonathon doesn't say anything and Steve can just hear the blood pounding in his ears. "Thanks, Steve." He says softly and Steve finally looks up and meets his eyes. "If I could do anything to change it I would, I swear." He says and honestly means it. Jonathon smiles, then looks serious again. "Look I made my own share of mistakes, like that evening with Nancy… I was fucking wrong and I may have apologized to her for that but it wasn't just her there, so I'm sorry too." He admits and it's incredibly awkward but a weight feels lifted now that it's all out in the open. "Okay how about this? It doesn't look like either of us are getting out of this shithole of a town anytime soon, so what if we started fresh? A blank slate so to speak?" Steve suggests, praying that he will agree because surprisingly, he really doesn't want to keep avoiding Jonathon. "I think… that it's worth trying?" Jonathon says cautiously and Steve grins, feeling the relief flood through him. "Yeah?" Steve says with a slight smirk. "I guess you're not that bad now." Jonathon teases, bumping his shoulder against his. "High praise from the great Jonathon Byers!" Steve cries clutching at his heart dramatically and Jonathan just shakes his head with a smile, "Idiot." He says and it comes out almost fondly. "Ah, but you still like me!" Steve says and Jonathon scoffs "I did not say that!" But there's no stopping Steve's grin now. "Maybe not in those words but I can read between the lines." Steve teases and Jonathon shoves him, which only makes him laugh harder. "Someones got his ego back." He says. 

By the time Joyce gets back from her shift at work, the three of them are sprawled on the floor all very competitively playing Frustration. "I'm home." She calls out as she locks the door behind her. "Hey Mom!" Will says brightly. "Hi dear." She replies. "How was work Mom?" Jonathon asks and she shrugs, "Long, you know, but it was fine." She tells him and looks over to them. "Steve!" She says surprised "You didn't have to stay this late dear." Steve smiles nervously. "I told him that don't worry Mom." Jonathon says looking over at Steve with a smirk. "You just wanted to get rid of me." Steve says teasingly and Jonathon just shrugs with a grin. Joyce looks between them worriedly, but clearly decides it's all friendly. "Alright, well you boys have fun then." She says and they get back to their game, as they were in no rush for the evening to end. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also writing this fic has made me Google a lot of random 80's facts! So its been an educational process, but I still don't understand the difference between frustration and Ludo.


	3. Girls and Boys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm trying new formatting for the speech, hopefully this will be easier to follow! If you guys prefer this I can go back and edit the first two chapters like this. Hope you like it x

Steve was sloached at the counter, mechanically sticking prices on the newly arrived videos, when Robin calls over to him from the video stacks "Hey Dingus! Your kids are out here."

Steve leaps up excitedly and hurrys around the counter, completely ignoring the stack of videos he knocked off in the process. "Henderson!" He calls out, met by an equally loud hello. Dustin and Steve jump about excitedly carrying out their long series of fist bumps and handshakes.

"Hey! We're here too dude!" Mike says indignantly, standing by the door with Will and Lucas.

"I'm getting there alright." Steve grumbles, but still goes over and enthusiastically high fives them all.

"Wow, I cannot believe you were ever considered cool." Robin states watching the welcomes with amusement.

"I'm still cool!" Steve says defensively and Robin just looks at him in disbelief.

"Idiot." She says fondly.

"Don't worry dude, I think your cool." Dustin tell him, patting his back sympathetically.

"Not that we don't appreciate your company but did you want something?" Robin asks the group.

"We just want to browse your collection, actually." Mike sasses back and the teenagers spread out among the stacks, rummaging through the shelves.

"This one?" Lucas asks holding a video up.

"Man we watched that one last week." Dustin whines.

"What about this one instead?" Mike asks after removing most of the videos on the shelf from their rightful positions.

"That one's lame." Lucas criticizes.

"I like it." Will says quietly.

"Fine, I guess we can watch that one if you really want." Lucas agrees reluctantly.

The group congregates back at the counter with their chosen film and Dustin slams the box down in front of them. "So… Steve." He starts and Steve sighs.

"What do you want." Steve asks, knowing full well what they're going to ask for. 

Dustin grins. "You know that we are but poor children, in need of entertainment over this long summer." He says, to which Steve and Robin share a look.

"You want freebies don't you." Robin says, cutting short Dustin's drawn out sob story.

"Well I guess you could put it like that." Dustin says reluctantly.

"Anyone would think you only hang out with me for my employee privileges." Steve accuses jokingly.

"Of course not!" Mike and Lucas say defensively, while Will shuffles nervously.

"Where else would I get advice on girls and hair styling without you my man!" Dustin says causing Steve to grin.

"Man you need better sources of advice than Dingus here." Robin jokes.

"Stop trying to steal my children Rob!" Steve accuses.

"I'm not!" She says holding her hands up.

"Don't worry Robin, we love you too." Dustin says reassuringly.

"Aww thanks bro." Robin says high fiving him over the counter.

"So can we have the film?" Mike asks bluntly.

"Fine, fine, we'll pretend it's still here BUT you have to bring it back tomorrow." Steve tells them.

"Yes!" Mike cries, high fiving Lucas and Dustin.

"Thanks man." Dustin says grinning as they all turn to leave.

"Come on then, back to mine." Mike says putting his arm around Will's shoulders and leading them all out of the store.

Robin scans the mess left after the group's brief appearance in the store. "Guess I'll tidy up your children's mess then." She says resigned to the job.

"Our children now." Steve corrects.

"What are we married or something?" Robin asks.

"Of course not, you're not my type," he jokes "but you are nominated babysitter now." Causing Robin to just groan but Steve spots the smile she's trying to hide.

Whiles she's tidying the shelves, Steve sets about picking up the videos off the floor, with only minor grumbling. *Knock* *knock* "Anyone there?" A guys voice says from above him, knuckles knocking on the top of the desk. He jumps up in surprise hitting his head on the bottom of the desk.

"Shit." He swore under his breath.

"You okay there man?" The man says sounding amused.

"Yeah yeah, sorry. How can I help?" Steve says running the back of his head as he stands up. Taking in the sporty looking guy and admiring the definition of the muscles in his arms stood in front of him.

"Returning this." He says handing over a video.

"Enjoy it?" Steve asks fiddling with the video case in his hands.

"Sure, it was good." He replies. Steve tried to figure out what else to say but he doesn't have a clue what the film is about and is feeling a bit tongue tied for some reason. The guy pushes his hair back out of his eyes and he can't help but watch and wishes he looked like him.

"..that all you need?" The guy asks confused at his silence.

"Ooh yea, sorry, you're all sorted." Steve hurries out and feels his cheeks go red with embarrassment.

"Right." The guy says unconvinced, then grabs a pen off the pot next to Steve and scribbles something down on the back of his receipt. "Just in case you decide you do need something else." He says with a wink. Then saunters out of the store, leaving Steve staring at the scribbled phone number in his hand.

After staring at the door for an embarrassing length of time, he shoves the paper in his pocket and gets back to work. "Eugh, that guy that was just in, winked at me on the way out, like god not every girl is into guys like you" Robin complains, jumping up onto the counter top and grabbing a lolly from their pot of goodies.

"Or any guys." Steve says distractedly.

"Exactly, like that's not cool when you're working, as you can't leave," she rants "or swear at them." She adds.

"Since when has company policy stopped you insulting people?" Steve jokes and she just shakes her head.

"Not my point." She says at which point Steve's finished his stack so leans back on the chair.

"I don't think he was into you anyway." Steve adds and she glares at him. 

"Why would you say that?" She demands and Steve looks panicked.

"Why does it matter? You're not into him." He asks hoping to distract her from her question.

Robin looks around the store, making sure it's still empty. "Okay. Just because I'm a lesbian doesn't mean guys can't find me attractive, that is not how it works dingus." She says starting to sound pissed off.

"That wasn't what I was thinking!" Steve hurries to correct her.

"Then why?" She asks and he sighs.

"Because I'm pretty sure he was hitting on me." Steve mumbles embarrassed.

"WHAT?" She squealed.

"Calm down, it's not a big deal." Steve says trying to quieten her down.

"Okay. Maybe he was just being friendly?" She questions and he shakes his head and pulls the receipt out of his pocket and passes it over to her.

"Yeah okay he was hitting on you." She admits grinning down at him.

"See, so not gonna be interested in you." Steve says hoping to get the conversation onto a different topic.

"Not necessarily, he could be bisexual?" She contemplates, swinging her legs in thought, but then looks at Steve's blank face and sighs. "Ah you still have much to learn, my young Padawan" She quotes wisely.

"What's ...bisexual?" Steve asks cautiously.

"Bisexual, is when someone is attracted to both men and women." She explains and Steve nods along, feeling the relief of a question being answered that he wasn't even aware he was asking. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Bisexual doesn't always mean just men and women, but non-binary identities were a bit less known in 1984 so it didn't make sense to include.


	4. Pick up the phone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was fun to write, in case you hadn't guessed I absolutley love Steve and Robin's friendship! #goals. So I hope you enjoy this too x

"So your father informs me that the conference was very informative and interesting, of course most of it goes over my head. You know what I'm like dear! But anyway, we did get quite cosy with some very influential business partners and they were just about to go out to their country house, and can you believe? They only invited us to join them! It was an opportunity we couldn't miss. He's very successful and she is very well connected socially, so this could be the beginning of something wonderful! If you were here you could have gotten to know their daughter, I'm sure she'd be easily charmed. Very sweet girl, bit plain but what can you do. Anyway, where was I? Oh yea, so we're going to be gone another week or two at least. So I've called the agency and told them to send a cleaner round tomorrow dear, so make sure you keep an eye on her, I can never completely trust people like that. You'd better not have been having parties while we've been gone, what would the neighbours think! We have a reputation to uphold. So you be a good boy and we'll see you when we get back okay? Love you. Mwah." Steve's mother says hanging up the phone. 

"Bye mom." Steve murmurs into the now disconnected line and slams the phone back into its holder. The phone rings again and Steve reflexively grabs it. "Yeah?" He asks voice sounding much to hopeful. 

"Okay that was weirdly quick, what are you just sitting by the phone waiting in the off chance I might call you? That's obsessive even for you dingus." Robin's familiar voice says down the line and his stomach drops. Of course she's not calling back. He should know better by now. 

"I thought you were my mom." Steve says softly. 

"Oh, well, nevermind, you get me instead. I'm much more fun." She says supportively. 

"Yea. So what can I do for you Rob?" He asks, pushing down the feeling of rejection. 

"Oh. Erm well. Are you doing anything now?" She asks, suddenly sounding less confident.

"Not a thing. Why?" He asks and there's a pause. 

"Can I come over?" She asks cautiously "Just, my parents are just like sat in front of the TV watching Dallas and criticizing my life choices and lack of a boyfriend. It's kind of driving me nuts." She explains all in a rush. 

"Sure, I could do with the distraction." Steve says, glad to actually have something to do for the rest of the evening. 

"Thanks. See you soon then." She says.

"See you soon." He replies and they hang up. 

At the prospect of company he looks around and cringes. He wanders around the house clearing up some of the dirty crockery and glasses, and kicks some of the dirty clothes out of the way. The place is looking a bit more respectable by the time he hears the doorbell go. He opens the door to see Robin holding her bike and awkwardly scuffing her shoes on the ground. "Hey." He says and she looks up and grins.

"Does it matter where I leave this?" She asks gesturing to her bike. 

"Nah, not like anyone else is here." He says, so she leans it against the wall and heads inside. 

"God boys are gross." She says looking around the living room. 

"Rude, I tidied up specially for you." Steve says.

"Okay well somehow that makes this worse." She says gesturing around at the mess. 

"You invited yourself here so really it's your own fault." He jokes and she just rolls her eyes, collapsing onto the sofa anyway. Steve just laughs then joins her, making himself comfy by throwing his legs over her lap. She glares at him for this but doesn't bother pushing him off. "Tough day?" Steve asks and Robin just groans, flopping her head back against the cushions. 

"I know they only want what's best for me, but their idea of the perfect life is a quaint suburban house with a husband, two point five children and maybe a dog. Like I want to see the world, experience it, and none of that includes any of that." She says gesturing vaguely in front of her. 

"Nah I mean you're definitely a cat person." Steve says with a straight face and Robin just bursts out laughing. 

"I'll have to sit them down and break the news to them. Mom, Dad, I'm sorry, but I want a cat. I've always been a cat person and that's never going to change." She says sniggering the whole way through. The giggling subsides a bit and she sobers up a bit, "So what's going on with your parents anyway?" She asks.

"They got invited to Mr and Mrs fancy's country house, which was an opportunity they just couldn't miss." He says in a high pitched voice, meant to mimic his mother's. 

"How long will they be gone?" She asks.

Steve shrugs "A week? Two? Three? Who knows." A somber silence falls on the two of them as they contemplate their parents failings. 

"Fuck them!" Robin says loudly, startling Steve as she slaps her hands down on his legs.

"Ow!" He cries but she ignores him. 

"Why should we sit here and mope, when we should be having fun and actually living our lives!" She says enthusiastically and looks at Steve for his agreement. 

"How?" He asks warily.

"Oh come on, 'King Steve' you definitely know how to have fun with an empty house and no parents." She says and he flinches slightly at the old nickname but then brightens when he realises what she's suggesting.

"Are you implying we should raid my dad's liquor cabinet and get drunk?" He asks grinning conspiratorially. 

"Most definitely." Robin agrees.

"Let's do it!" Steve says leaping up from the sofa, almost knocking Robin to the floor in his enthusiasm. Robin laughs and quickly stumbles after him.

***

A piercing ringing sound drills into her brain even with a pillow held tightly over her head. A brief pause gives her a blissful moment of peace, but then it starts over again, so she throws the pillow off and sits up, much too sharply if her stomach has any say in it. She stumbles out of bed in search of the noise so she can shut it up. The stairs are a challenge but she makes it down to the living room, where Steve is still passed out on the sofa. She realises it must be the doorbell that's driving her nuts, so she nudges Steve hoping to wake him up. He groans and then immediately rolls back over, looking dead to the world. "God do I have to do everything around here." She mutters to herself, grabbing a hoodie off the floor and putting it on with a grimace. 

She swings open the door and glares at whoever is disturbing her plans to lie in bed and regret ever drinking with Steve Harrington of all people. Standing in the doorway is a guy about her own age, that she vaguely recognizes as Jonathon. He looks startled at her presence and goes to say something but closes his mouth again. "What?" She asks grumpily. 

Jonathon takes a step back, eyes wide. "I… erm… wanted to talk to Steve? Sorry, I've got work soon so I couldn't come round later." He asks cautiously and she can tell he's eyeing up her appearance and making assumptions.

"Alright, I'll see if I can wake him up." She says, confused as to what he could possibly want Steve for, given what she knows about their shared history. "STEVE!" She yells from the door and hears the resulting crash as he falls off the sofa in surprise.

"Please be quiet." Steve says clutching at his head. 

"He's up." She says grinning at a startled Jonathon. 

"What do you want?" Steve calls back. 

"Put some clothes on and come to the door." She calls back. It takes a couple minutes but then Steve stumbles into the hall, clearly pulling a pair of sweatpants on, but having forgotten or not bothered about a shirt. 

His hair is spiky and it's the messiest she's ever seen it, so she can't help but laugh. "Shut up." He mutters at her, then looks up and scrunches up his face in confusion. "Jonathon?" He asks rubbing his eyes, to clear the sleep from them.

"Hey." Jonathon says awkwardly. 

"Look I'm gonna go and have a shower okay? You sort whatever this is out." Robin says gesturing between the two of them. 

"Hmm? Oh sure, help yourself." Steve says distractedly. Steve yawns and then looks at Jonathon expectantly. "You wanted to talk to me?" He asks holding back a laugh at Jonathon's flushed face. 

"Yea, so erm Mom's working most of the day and I have plans after work, so Will would be on his on his own again, so I guess we were wondering if you could come over again?" Jonathon asks clearly avoiding eye contact with Steve "But if you have plans then I mean it's fine I don't want to intrude." He quickly adds, glancing in the house towards where Robin had wandered off to.

"I think it should be fine?" Steve says non committedly, then scrunches up his face in thought, "Although something is niggling at me." He says mainly just thinking out loud. 

While he's thinking, a car pulls up to the house and a middle aged woman gets out with a bucket of cleaning supplies. "Harrington?" The woman asks walking up them. 

"Yea?" He answers confused and she looks impatient. 

"I'm the cleaner? I believe your mother called us?" She says and Steve finally remembers the conversation with his mother yesterday and nods. 

He moves out of the way of the door and she purposefully walks into the house, but then Steve turns around suddenly "Oh by the way! Don't do the bathroom yet, my friend's having a shower in there." He tells her and she gives him a disapproving look, but nods. 

"Okay so when would Will want company?" Steve asks turning back to Jonathon, who clearly looks slightly stunned. 

"He's at Mike's till about 2, but then they're going to their grandma's or something, so from about then?" Jonathon says, his tone slightly less friendly than before. 

"Right… What time is it now?" Steve asks and Jonathon rolls his eyes at him. 

"About half ten." He says glancing at his watch. 

"Yeah? Okay two will be fine then. I can pick him up from Mike's if that's easiest?" Steve agrees, planning out what he's got to do for the day. Jonathon looks unsure for a minute and clearly eyes up the state he is in. 

After slight consideration he concedes. "Yeah okay, if that's no trouble." He says.

Steve grins "Awesome." 

Jonathon glances at his watch again and swore under his breath. "Look thanks, I've really got to get to work now though." He says all in a hurry. 

"Alright, see you later then." Steve says, slightly unsure as to why he's feeling a nervous fluttering in his stomach at the thought. Shaking that weird feeling off he waves at Jonathan as he drives off and let's out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding once the door is securely closed behind him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that's reading this and leaving kudos or commenting! It really gives me inspiration to keep writing! X


	5. I like boys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Thank you guys for your support, it really helps :)

Steve pulls up to the Wheeler's house at dead on two. He walks up the house and walks up to the door, feeling a lot better than he did when he was rudely woken up this morning. He'd dropped Robin home on the way, who was not looking forward to facing her mother and explaining where she was last night. He didn't envy her that conversation. He knocks on the door and waits, although he can hear voices and movement inside. The door swings open, revealing Nancy Wheeler and they both freeze in surprise. "Steve." Nancy greets awkwardly. 

"Hey Nance." He greets, feeling very stupid for not considering that he might see her here, as it is her house too. 

Nancy's mother comes round the corner and gasps. "Oh Steve! Been a long time." She says peering over Nancy's shoulder at him. "Although I hope you're not trying to win her back, she's already got a date tonight!" She jokes. 

Nancy's eyes widen "Mom!" She exclaims, turning around to glare at her. 

Steve just chuckles awkwardly, "Actually, I'm here to pick up Will?" 

Which just makes makes her look confused. "Why?" She asks and Steve awkwardly shuffles. 

"I said I'd look after him while his Mom's at work and Jonathan is out." He says glancing at Nancy, who quickly looks away. 

"Ooh of course! I'll go get him." Her Mom says heading towards the basement, leaving him and Nancy standing awkwardly together. 

"So… how've you been?" He asks and she smiles. 

"Alright thanks, been looking at potential colleges to apply to." She says. 

"Nice, they'll be lucky to have you." He tells her, shoving his hands into his pockets.

The boys run up from the basement, ending their conversation. "Hey Steve!" They both say in greeting and he grins at them both. 

"Ready to go then Will?" Steve asks and he nods. 

"Bye Mike." Will says. 

"We still on for the weekend?" Mike asks.

Will nods, "Should be." He says. Mike pulls him into a hug and Steve nods to Nancy in goodbye. 

Once in the car, his music starts playing loudly, so he quickly turns it down so he doesn't deafen him. "Sorry." Steve says awkwardly. 

"It's fine, Jonathan plays them loud as well." Will says, fingers tapping along to the song.

Steve gasps. "Jonathan likes Wham? I thought they'd be too mainstream for him?" Steve asks with a big grin. 

Will grins shyly. "Don't tell him I told you." He says sneakily and Steve laughs. 

"His secret is safe with me." He says miming zipping his lips. They both sing along to the songs, some more accurately than others, while Steve drives. Before they know it, they've pulled in and are at the house. 

Steve grabs his backpack from the back seat, locks the car and then waits by the door as Will rummages about in his bag for his house key. "Aha." He eventually exclaims holding out the key proudly. 

"Nice to know we're not locked out." Steve says grinning at him, as Will unlocks the door letting them both in. "Alright so I came prepared this time." Steve says, dropping his backpack onto the table and unzipping it. He pulls out a copy of Star Wars and a bag of popcorn, "You interested?" He asks waving the two in front of Will temptingly. 

"Yes!" Will says leaping up and grabbing the popcorn out of his hands and running over to the sofa.

"Thought you might be." Steve says wandering over to the TV more sedately. They quickly settle in watching the film, with the bag of popcorn between them. 

"Eugh I don't like the Ewoks." Will complains when they come onto screen. 

"What! But they're so cute." Steve exclaims and Will just stares at him unimpressed before going back to the film. "Man, just look at his hair. He looks good." Steve says, not noticing the strange look Will gives him. "What's the actor called again?" Steve continues. 

Will just looks at him in disbelief. "Harrison Ford!" He exclaims and Steve nods.

"Much better than that Luke guy's hair, that has no body whatsoever." He complains. 

"That Luke guy?! Have you even been watching the film?" Will demands and Steve just shrugs.

"Look I'm easily distracted alright, they're too long." Steve whines. "I'm mostly watching it so I can impress Robin with my knowledge tomorrow." He says and Will just huffs. 

"She won't be impressed by anything you can remember" Will tells him and Steve just groans in disappointment. "When did you and Robin get together?" Will asks after a pause and Steve just stares at him. 

"Me and Robin aren't dating." He says and Will laughs, but then looks over at him and realises he's not joking. "Seriously. She's my best friend and I love her to pieces, but we're not going to date." Steve explains, but that makes Will look even more confused. 

"Why not?" He asks and Steve deeply regrets getting into this conversation. 

"Well, friendship and romance are just different? Like, have you ever dated anyone?" He asks and Will shakes his head.

"I'm not really interested in girls." He says quietly. 

Steve pauses for a minute, deciding whether or not to dig into that conversation. "Boys?" He asks cautiously and sees Will freeze in his peripheral vision. 

"What?" Will asks, voice sounding shaky.

Steve shuffles slightly, while he tries to find the right words that won't scare him off. "Some people are gay, so not all boys are interested in girls, which is fine." Steve tells him carefully, purposefully keeping his eyes on the TV rather than looking at Will. "Or some people are ...bisexual, and interested in both." He says, feeling his heart rate increase and having to pause before actually saying the word. Will just goes quiet and they keep watching the film in silence.

"I think I might be gay." Will stutters out, breaking the silence that had formed between them. Steve looks over at him from the TV and can see the tension in his body, like he is fully prepared to bolt. 

Steve smiles supportively, "That's cool. I'm very proud of you for telling me." He says and Will still looks wary and like he can't quite believe this is actually happening, but he is slowly starting to untense again. 

"You… don't think it's unnatural or weird?" He cautiously asks, picking at the seam of his jeans. 

"No! If anyone ever tells you it's wrong, you tell me and I will find them and fight them for you." Steve tells him and Will let's out a surprised laugh. 

"You probably wouldn't win." He jokes. 

Steve gasps in mock outrage, "How dare you! I have won a fight!" He says and Will laughs. 

"One." Will comments. 

Steve side-eyes him. "Yea well didn't your mother ever teach you not to get into fights?" Steve says sulking. 

Will scrunches up his face as if in thought. "Well yea, but also that if you have to fight, you should win." He says, making Steve roll his eyes at Mrs Byer's life mottos. 

By the time the closing credits are running, the bag of popcorn is long gone and they are both slouched right down on the sofa. "So did you like it?" Will asks. 

Steve contemplates it. "Yea, it was fun. Lots of lightsabers, guns and those Ewoks! So cute!" He says enthusiastically.

Will groans and puts his head in his hands. "I almost wish you didn't like it now." Will grumbles, making Steve laugh. 

Startling them out of their conversation is the click of the front door lock. It creaks as it opens and they both sit up, watching intently. They both let out sighs of relief when a ruffled looking Jonathan comes into sight. "Man you scared the life out of us!" Steve exclaims, running his hand through his hair anxiously.

Jonathan looks startled, "Sorry." He murmurs. 

"Didn't think you'd be back this early." Steve continues and Jonathan looks slightly uncomfortable. 

"Yea… well work was stressful and I didn't feel like staying out late." Jonathan says shrugging. 

"Come sit then." Steve says patting the sofa next to him. Jonathan sighs and trudges over, collapsing down onto the seat next to Steve. He closes his eyes and sinks back into the seat. "Hard day?" He asks and Jonathan just groans. 

"I don't know, they were just expecting things to be done that they hadn't asked for and were just generally being jerks." He sighs. 

"Ah, and being the intern you can't complain." Steve says. 

"Well that's not fair." Will says angrily. 

"Hey it's okay bud, just a fact of life unfortunately. Bosses suck." Jonathan says, leaving Will looking sad. 

"What about Nancy, weren't you going out with her afterwards?" Will asks, causing Jonathan to look at Steve with a wide, panicked expression. 

"Chill, it's fine. I'm not going to go psycho on you over my ex." Steve says with a grin. He understands why Jonathan expects that reaction from him, but it still feels like a punch in the gut. 

Jonathan is still eyeing him warily, but cautiously starts telling Will about his date. "She wanted to go somewhere nice really, but I just didn't have the energy to dress up all nice and deal with people. Not to mention payday isn't till next week, so I just can't afford it." He says. 

"You should have brought her here and stuck a movie or something on." Will tells him and Jonathan chuckles half-heartedly. 

"Romantic." He states sarcastically. 

"He's right man, at least you'd be spending time together." Steve adds, but notices that Jonathan is clearly trying to avoid eye contact with him. "Okay what was the real problem?" Steve asks watching Jonathan intently. 

He shuffles about a bit, clearly procrastinating answering him. "Look, she didn't want to come here alright?" Jonathan says getting pissed off. 

"Why?" Steve asks ignoring his raised voice.

"Because… she knew you were here. She thought it would be weird." Jonathan admits and Steve's irritation vanishes. 

"Oh." He says softly. 

Will looks between the two of them, then gets up squeezing Jonathan's shoulder as he walks past, going into his room. 

"I'm sorry." Steve says and Jonathan just scoffs. 

"It's not your fault. Annoyingly you've been nothing but helpful." Jonathan says. 

Steve snorts. "Easier when you could hate me?" He asks and Jonathan just looks away. "Look man, just forget about it all tonight, chill out, then tomorrow you can figure it all out." Steve tells him. 

Jonathan just sighs. "I can't. There's too much that needs doing." He says going to get up.

"Sit." Steve says pushing him back down on the sofa. 

Jonathan glares at him. "Look I have responsibilities, I can't just sit here." Jonathan snaps. 

"Okay, what can you not do tomorrow?" Steve demands. 

"Look things need cleaning and tidying and Will needs dinner, I can't just sit here." Jonathan says anxiously. 

"Look you can clean tomorrow, when you've sorted your head out." Steve tells him calmly "and god if dinner is the only other problem, I can do that." He continues. 

Jonathan snorts. "You? Cook?" He says in disbelief. 

"People's lack of faith in me is just rude." Steve complains "I've been cooking for myself since I was like 12, I've had a lot of practise."

Jonathan stops laughing and looks at him intently. "All the time?" He asks seriously.

Steve shrugs. "Mostly. I mean occasionally if they're home my parents might order in takeaway?" He reminisces. "So just let me help, okay?" He says getting up from the sofa and glaring at Jonathan when he goes to get up too. 

"Fine." Jonathan says giving in and putting his hands up jokingly. Steve grabs the radio and puts that on, while he rummages around in the Byer's kitchen for supplies. "You want any help?" Jonathan calls from the sofa. 

"Don't you dare get up!" Steve jokes. He hums along to the radio and gets cooking. Once everything is mostly cooking he glances over at Jonathan and sees that he has put his feet up on the coffee table and it sounds like he might be snoring. He shakes his head at him and gets back to cooking. 

Once it's ready to serve, Steve leans over the back of the sofa next to Jonathan, noticing how much more relaxed he looks than most times he's seen him. But then they do have a habit of not meeting at the best times. "Jonathan." He says quietly. "Time to wake up." He says softly. 

Jonathan starts to stir. "Huh?" He murmurs sleepily. 

"Food's ready." Steve says cheerily. 

"Shit did I fall asleep?" He blearily asks, rubbing at his eyes. 

"You did." Steve chuckles. Jonathan gets up and stumbles over to the table while Steve calls Will in from his room. 

As soon as they're all sat down with food, Will quickly digs in and starts telling them about the party's plans for the weekend and their upcoming D&D campaign. Jonathan is a bit slower, having just woken up, but still contributing bits. Steve looks over at him and smiles as he looks a bit better than when he first walked through the door. Jonathan glances up and Steve quickly looks away, feeling like he's been caught doing something he shouldn't. Jonathan opens his mouth to say something but is interrupted by the door opening. "Hello boys!" Joyce calls, coming in and goes around the table giving the boys kisses on their foreheads. "Nice to see you Steve." She says and leans in to kiss his forehead too, making his face flush bright red. Both Jonathan and Will snigger at this. 

Steve clears his throat, pretending that nothing happened. "There's extra in the pan if you haven't eaten yet." He says studiously avoiding eye contact with the others. 

"Oh! You are thoughtful!" Joyce says brightly, ruffling his hair and going to grab some food. 

"You made extra for Mom?" Jonathan asks quietly, leaning over the table towards him. 

Steve shrugs. "Yea? I mean it made sense." He says embarrassed. He glances up and sees Jonathan grinning at him. "Anyway, I should probably be getting back soon, I've got work tomorrow." Steve says quickly looking away from Jonathan and getting up. 

"Oh don't leave on my account." Joyce calls from the kitchen. 

"Oh of course not, but it is getting late." Steve reassures. 

"Well in that case you will have to actually come over one day and I will cook for you!" Joyce promises and Steve grins, nodding reassuringly at her. 

He goes and grabs his bag from by the TV and then waves "Bye then." He says. 

"Bye Steve." Joyce says hurrying over to him and pulling him into a hug. "Look after yourself." She said. Steve chuckles and nods with a roll of his eyes. 

"Bye Steve." Will says and actually gets up and hugs him as well. At first it's a bit cautious, as if Steve might push him away, but then he clings tightly to him. "Thanks." He murmurs into Steve's shirt, not meeting his eyes. Steve just rubs his back reassuringly. 

Once Will is sat back down Jonathan looks at Steve indecisively for a pause, then he stands up and claps him on the shoulder. "Thanks man, see you around." He says and Steve smiles heading out the door before he gets too attached to the warmth and love in that house. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God this turned out so sappy and domestic, don't know why I'm surprised, I mean I am writing it!


	6. Lucky Strike

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was a nightmare to write, I just couldn't get it to do what I wanted? But also it's turned into a huge monster of a chapter so who knows how that worked? And I guess sorry if it's weird or doesn't flow right?

Steve pulls up at the last house, turning around proudly to grin at Mike and Lucas. "Dead on half two!" and they look at him like he's crazy and just shrug.

Dustin comes running out of the door, backpack swinging on his shoulders. His grinning face appears at Steve's open window. "Nice timing man." He says, fist bumping him. He walks around the car to the passenger side and frowns when he sees Will is sat in his seat. He opens the back door instead and gets Mike to move across into the middle seat. Once seated he glares at Steve. "Are you replacing me already dude?" He demands peering over the car seats. 

"Course not, but his Mom pays me to hang out with him." Steve jokes. He turns round and shrugs at Dustin "Sorry man." 

Will gasps in outrage. "She does not! You won't accept any of it." Will replies grinning back at Steve. 

Steve flails his arms around and then shushes him. "I was trying to stop Dustin getting jealous!" Steve exclaims. 

"Man you are bad at this." Lucas states from the back seat. 

"Okay can we go we're meant to meet the girls soon!" Mike says impatiently, leaning in between the chairs. 

"Alright, alright." Steve says at his impatience. "I don't get why I'm driving you all anyway, you all have bikes." He grumbles, but starts driving anyway. To his surprise there's no arguments coming from behind him, just silence. "Okay, what?" He asks. 

There's a heavy pause. "Well… my mom's been more paranoid with us going out, ever since we, 'got locked in the mall overnight'." Dustin says, using air quotes. 

"My parents have been the same, because Erica was with you guys." Lucas adds. 

"Even my Mom's been trying to 'spend more time with us', it's weirding me out." Mike tells them all. "Like as far as she knows we weren't even involved in the Mall." 

"Oh, and your parents trust you more with me?" Steve asks, "Do they know I was there?" He asks trying to focus on the road and not on the memories of that night. 

"No… you're just an older, more responsible friend?" Dustin says and the Mike and Lucas murmur their agreement. 

Steve chuckles sadly. "Suppose that's good. They'd never let me near you otherwise." He says. 

"They just don't know what happened, I mean my Mom trusts you." Will tells him. Steve smiles half heartedly. A heavy silence falling on the group. 

They pull up at the arcade and see Max and El leaning against the wall by the door with their bikes. They all clamber out of the car, calling greetings out. Mike and Lucas go up to their girlfriends and kiss them in greeting. "Eugh, gross." Dustin calls, walking past them and into the arcade. 

Steve and Will hang back, leaning against the car. "Couples huh." Steve says smirking and nudges Will with his elbow. He glances over at him and sees the flash of hurt cross his face as he watches them. "What's wrong?" He asks. 

"Nothing." Will says evasively, quickly looking down at his shoes and stuffing his hands in his jean pockets.

Steve looks between the couples and Will a couple times in confusion. Realisation hits him a minute later. "Oh. Mike?" He asks. He puts his arm around him in sympathy. "That sucks man." He says. 

"Don't know what you mean." Will murmurs. 

Steve just rolls his eyes and pats Will's back. "Look, I get it. Feelings are a bitch sometimes." He says, his brain helpfully conjuring up an image of Nancy and Jonathan together just to prove it's point. Shaking that image out of his head he continues, "You ever need to vent, I'm here." He says and Will smiles. 

Dustin appears back in the doorway. "Are you guys coming or what?" He yells impatiently. Will and Steve laugh, heading into the arcade. The couples split up and follow, both holding hands and calling joking insults at Dustin. 

***

The kids have long since scattered across the machines and Steve is wandering between them all, watching them play but mostly keeping out of their way. He's leaning against one of the machines when he senses someone hovering beside him. "Hey." They say. 

Steve glances over and smirks in recognition at Jonathan. "Shirking off work are we?" He says with a grin. 

Jonathan rolls his eyes at him good naturedly. "Finished early." He says.

"Sure, I believe you." Steve says jokingly. Jonathan gasps in offence and whacks him on the arm. "Hey! No violence! We said we'd moved past this!" He says laughing in between words and batting Jonathan away. 

"Drama queen." Jonathan says shaking his head in amusement at him. 

Steve huffs. "You should have more respect for royalty." He jokes, crossing his arms over his chest. Jonathan glares at him then does a mock bow. This makes both of them start giggling. Steve looks up to see where the kids are. He sees Mike, Lucas and El crowded around Max and cheering her on, while she annihilates the high score. It takes him a minute to spot the other two, but then sees them both duck behind a machine. He looks away and in his peripheral vision he sees them peering back around and watching him and Jonathan. He chuckles at their attempt at spying. "Hey, let's see if there's any good games upstairs." He says.

Jonathan looks at him strangely. "Why?" He asks, but Steve just gives him a gentle shove towards the stairs. 

"Because if we have to babysit, we may as well have some fun at the same time." Steve says with a grin. He strides towards the stairs without looking back. 

Jonathan gapes at him, but hurries to catch up with him once he nearly goes out of sight. "What are you doing?" He asks when he finally catches up to Steve. 

Steve just turns and grins at him. "Air hockey!" He declares, brandishing his arms wide revealing the table behind him. Jonathan raises an eyebrow at him. "Come on," Steve whines. "Bet I can beat you." He says with a smirk. 

"No way." Jonathan states. Steve looks disappointed, his smile dropping. "I'm definitely going to crush you." He says after a pause, grabbing the striker and getting into position. 

Steve grins widely at the fighting talk. "Nice talk, but which one of us actually plays sports?" He teases. 

Jonathan scoffs. "Sure but which one of us has a younger brother who loves arcades." He argues back. 

"Guess we'll see, won't we?" Steve challenges, putting the money in the machine and grabbing his own striker. 

Steve puts the money in the slot and they get into position. The buzzer goes off and they competitively hit the puck back and forth. They're pretty evenly matched, no-one scoring for a while, until Steve gets a lucky shot in. "Yes!" He cheers, but then groans when in his celebration Jonathan had snuck the puck into his goal. After this loss, Steve starts to get flustered and loses a couple of points. By the time the finishing buzzer goes, Jonathan is substantially winning. "You're a bad winner aren't you?" Steve sighs, looking at Jonathan's smug expression. 

"You mean your a sore loser?" Jonathan teases, grinning widely. 

Steve glares at him. "No. Anyway it's not fair if it's only one round." He says sulkily. 

Jonathan laughs. "Since when was that in the rules?" He exclaims. 

"Best of three goes without saying." Steve says, slight twitch of a smile on his lips. 

Jonathan gives him a look that says he knows he is full of shit. "Fine. I'll still win." He states. Steve rolls his eyes at the taunt but gets ready to go again anyway. 

Unfortunately for him both games go similarly to the first one, although he does manage to close the gap a bit on the second match. "Fine alright, your good at air hockey." Steve says reluctantly. 

"Better than you?" Jonathan teases, getting a glare from Steve in return. 

"Look if it were bowling, I'd have won. No doubt." Steve says defensively. 

Jonathan laughs. "Sure... Idiot." He says fondly, shaking his head at Steve's very 'subtle' challenge. Jonathan glances at his watch. "We should probably see what the others are up to." He says reluctantly. Steve sighs but nods. "Elevator's closest." Jonathan says, nodding over to it. 

Steve follows hesitantly, feeling something in his chest tighten. "But the stairs…" he says, sentence drifting off as he doesn't quite know what he's trying to say. Jonathan is already in the elevator waiting, so his protests are lost and he follows him in. As soon as the door closes he feels his stomach drop as the floor goes down. "No, no, no, I can't do this." He says starting to panic. His breathing is getting laboured and he backs against the wall, arms clinging to his chest.

"Steve? Are you okay?" Jonathan asks concerned. Steve doesn't respond, blood pumping too loudly in his ears. The elevator dings as it reaches the ground floor and the door open. Steve stumbles out of the door and sinks to the floor in the corner. Jonathon follows him out and slowly crouches in front of him. "Steve. It's okay. We're at the arcade, with Will and his friends. You're safe." He tells him calmly. 

Steve's breathing slowly starts to calm down as Jonathan talks. "Sorry." He mutters without raising his head. 

"There's nothing to apologize for." Jonathan says softly. "I get them too." He says after a pause. Steve glances up and meets his eyes. "Most people couldn't even imagine what we've been through." He says. 

Steve smiles. "You sound like your mother." He says with a slight chuckle. 

"I can't tell if that's a compliment or not." Jonathan says and Steve just shrugs slyly. "Do you want to go somewhere quieter?" He asks. Steve's smile drops and he looks around, seemingly just noticing the crowds of people and noise around them. 

"Yeah." He says after a pause. "Make my excuses to the others will you?" He asks clambering up and eyeing up the door to the exit. 

"Idiot. I'm coming with you." Jonathan says shaking his head at him. Steve stares at him like a deer caught in the headlights. "Come on, we'll just tell 'em we're leaving." He says, searching the nearby machines for any of the kids. 

"Jonathan! How long have you been here?" Will says running up to him, as if him and Dustin hadn't been spying on them when he arrived. 

"Half an hour or so? We were upstairs." Jonathan mumbles, his face flushing red awkwardly. 

Dustin stares at him in disbelief, eyeing up the two of them. "You okay Steve?" He asks, making Steve squirm under the attention. His hands are stuffed in his pockets and he knows his eyes are probably bloodshot, so he's not looking his best. 

Thankfully Jonathan saves him from answering, as he's struggling to hold himself together as it is. "He's not feeling great, so I was gonna take him home if you guys are alright to make your way home?" He says, successfully avoiding eye contact with both kids. 

"We'll manage." Will says, giving them both a look like he doesn't believe them but can't quite figure out where the lie is. 

"We have to walk?" Dustin whines. Quickly being elbowed by Will. "But yea feel better soon buddy." He adds as an afterthought. 

"See you later then alright?" Jonathan says and Will nods. He turns to Steve. "Let's go then." He says putting his hand on Steve's lower back, leading him out of the arcade. They get nearly out the door when Jonathan realises what he's doing and quickly pulls his hand away. Face turning a bright shade of red and stuffing his hands tightly into his pockets. 

They get to Steve's car and he rummages in his pocket for the keys. "You are not driving." Jonathan states, once the keys have been located. Steve sighs and chucks them over to Jonathan without a fight. The drive back goes in silence. Steve curled up in the passenger seat, staring blankly out of the window. The radio plays softly and Jonathan tries very hard to concentrate on the car and not keep glancing over at Steve. "Your house or mine?" He asks when they get close to the junction to their respective sides of the city. 

There's a pause before Steve answers. "Yours." He says quietly. The silence falls over them again as Jonathan turns towards his house. 

Once there Steve follows Jonathan in and through into his room, collapsing on his back in the bed and closing his eyes. Jonathan puts a Talking Heads record on and looks over at Steve. "Stop standing there staring at me." Steve mumbles without opening his eyes. 

Jonathan startles. "I'm not!" He says panicked. After a slight pause he calms down. "Your eyes are closed anyway." He says. 

Steve chuckles. "Just proved my point didn't ya." He says and Jonathan sighs in resignation. Steve shuffles over on the bed and pats the space next to him. "I don't bite." He says cracking an eye open to smirk at Jonathan. 

He blushes, but after a moment's hesitation joins him lying on the bed. "Happy now?" He asks petulantly. 

"Yea, I like being by people." Steve says softly. 

"Even me?" Jonathan says unconvinced. 

Steve turns his head and looks at him. "Much as it's hard to believe from our history, I actually like your company." He says smiling. 

"Weirdo." Jonathan jokes, closing his eyes and relaxing into the mattress. 

Steve scoffs. "Well my social circle has shrunk rather dramatically recently. I mean god, I think Robin is the first person to actually like me for me." He says. 

Jonathan freezes. He glances over at Steve and sees him smiling at just the thought of her. His stomach drops and he wishes that someone talked about him like that. "Your lucky to have her then." He says softly. 

"I am." Steve says softly. "At least something good came of being captured and tortured by Russians." He says, trying to joke but it comes out choked. 

"Fuck. You really went through hell together didn't you?" Jonathan asks cautiously. Steve murmurs in agreement, but can't get any words out. "Is that why you couldn't be in the elevator?" He asks. 

There's a silence when Steve doesn't reply, but Jonathan doesn't push. "I thought I was going back there. Stupid right?" He says quietly. 

Jonathan turns onto his side to face him, although Steve won't meet his eye. "Steve. You got captured and tortured by Russian soldiers, I think the odd panic attack is normal. You've got to give yourself a break." He says softly. Steve finally turns and meets his eyes, assessing his sincerity. Once he realises he isn't making fun of him, he smiles. 

They both shift onto their backs, sides pressed together on the narrow bed. They lie their quietly, listening to the music playing in the background. "I can't believe you chose this moment to inflict your weird music on me." Steve jokes. 

"Hey! You just have no taste." Jonathan argues, elbowing him in the side. 

"Fucking rude you are." Steve says shoving him back, both of them laughing when Jonathan nearly falls off the bed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun facts. 
> 
> I listened to a bunch of Talking Heads for this, cue me 'hearing' the lyrics "God is a vegan". Which after a lot of googling I realised was actually "The garden of Eden", whoops? 
> 
> Also I definitley haven't spend this entire time spelling Lucas as Lukas, nope, definitley not...


	7. All I want is to be your girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this completely self indulgent fluff? Hell yes. Do I regret it? No! #GiveRobinAGirlfriend

Robin was sat behind the counter, again, with her feet propped up on the counter as the video store hadn't had a customer in hours. She was alternating between flicking bits of popcorn from the "damaged" bag at Steve, who was on the floor against the desk, and munching on them herself. He was trying to catch them in his mouth but failing dreadfully, leading to most of them ending up on or in his shirt. 

She jumps and almost falls out of her seat when the bell to the door rings, causing her popcorn to end up on the floor. "Fuck!" Steve exclaims under his breath as the kernels rain down onto him. 

"Are you okay?" A soft voice asks and Robin looks up from Steve to the eyes of a stunning girl about her own age, with shoulder length wavy hair, freckles and bright green eyes.

In a panic she stands up and pushes Steve back down from where he was trying to get up. "I'm fine! You just startled me that's all." She blurts out, immediately feeling her cheeks heating up.

"Okay." The girl replies slightly cautiously and there's a loaded silence until Steve elbows Robin in the shin to kick start her brain again.

"Ooh! Right, so how can I be of assistance to you today then?" Robin asks with clearly a bit too much enthusiasm as she can feel Steve shaking against her legs in amusement. So she just kicks him in the ribs to get him to shut up.

"So… I may have got a bit obsessed with this video and I completely forgot that I was supposed to return it yesterday, is there any chance you could overlook the late fee just this once?" The girl asks and Robin swears she's fluttering her eyelashes at her and by God does it work on her. 

"I suppose I could pretend it got overlooked in last night's returns, if it would mean it would get us a regular returning customer?" She says with what she hopes is her best smile. 

"Seriously! Would you?" The girl exclaims and pulls her into a hug over the counter, engulfing Robin in the smell of her apple shampoo. "Thank you so much! I've only just moved here so I don't really know anyone, so I'll probably be needing your rentals for a while." The girl says slightly shyly. 

"That's good to hear. Let's have the video then." Robin says, secretly crossing her fingers behind her back in the hope that she has at least some decent taste in films. 

The girl slides the video over to her and Robin gasps. "The apartment! That's literally like my favourite film, isn't it amazing?" She exclaims. 

She watches as the girls eyes widen, "It is! I've watched it enough now that I could probably quote it word for word." She says grinning widely at her. 

"That is so refreshing, most people around here are just trying to get the newest cinema release." Robin tells her, grinning when it gets a laugh out of the girl. 

"Yeah the guy that rented it to me hadn't heard of it, didn't have a clue where to find it." She replies grinning. 

Robin rolls her eyes. "Let me guess, around our age? Big fancy hair?" She asks ignoring Steve flicking her leg in revenge. 

"Think so?" The girl answers uncertainly. 

"Yeah he knows bugger all about film culture. Never take advice from him." She jokes, relishing in the indignation she knows Steve is feeling. 

The girl laughs and leans in conspiratorially. "I'll have to make sure I only come in when you're working then." She says and Robin sucks in a breath. "So what else would you recommend then?" The girl asks leaning on the counter top. She smiles sweetly at Robin and her heart beats wildly. 

"I mean… my other favourite would be Children of Paradise? But that's in French." Robin stutters out. Face flushed in embarrassment at her outburst. 

"Oh that's not a problem, my mother is French so I'm fluent. I'd love to rent it" She explains and follows behind as Robin excitedly shows her to the section of the store with the film she recommended. 

By the time they get back to the counter, Steve has brushed himself off and is attempting to casually lean against the door to the backroom. "My break's over Robin, hope you've not been too lonely without me." He says grinning from ear to ear and eyeing up the two of them. "Hey there, name's Steve and you are?" He asks with his trademark smirk. 

"Lucille" She replies looking slightly uncertain. After a pause, she turns to face Robin. "Lucy to my friends." She says with a shy smile. 

"Pretty name, hope we'll be seeing more of you." He says winking at her. 

"Ignore him, he's an insufferable flirt." Robin says shoving him away from the till. 

"Ooh come on, the ladies love me." Steve says with a laugh.

"Nope. Do I need to re-do the chart? Because we already established that you suck." Robin argues back.

"Look I was at a disadvantage! How was I supposed to pick anyone up in that stupid outfit?" Steve exclaims. 

"Outfit?" Lucy asks, shocking them out of their bickering. Both of them swiveling around to face her. 

"Oh, yea we both worked at Scoops Ahoy before here. The uniform was a lovely sailor outfit. He looked like Popeye!" Robin explains. 

"They made us wear a hat! Ruined my hair." Steve sulks. Robin pulls an exaggerated sad face at him. 

Lucy laughs. "So you've worked together for a while then?" She tentatively asks. 

Steve and Robin share a look. "Only a few months really." Robin tells her. 

"Can't get rid of me now!" Steve jokes, resting his elbow on her shoulder and leaning his weight on her. 

Robin shoves him off with a laugh. "Who was it that convinced Kevin to hire you Dingus? I could have got rid of you if I wanted." She jokes. Steve just grins wider and raises his eyebrows at her. "God knows why." She says shaking her head at him, but she's still smiling at him. 

Steve picks the video up and deals with the rental and rings it up. "Well I guess I should be off." Lucy says shuffling on her feet and adjusting her bag.

"Nice meeting you." Robin says softly. 

"You too." Lucy replies and then turns to leave, with one last glance back at them. 

"Lucy! Erm so Steve's having a party next Friday night and you said you don't know anyone, so erm, if you wanted to come along?" Robin exclaims, rambling nervously. 

"I am?!" Steve asks scrunching up his face in surprise. 

"Well less of a party, not really our scene, more of a gathering right?" Robin continues, elbowing Steve in the side to get him to agree with her.

"You're more than welcome to come Lucy." Steve says interrupting her rambling nonsense. 

"I mean it would be nice to meet some people, but I really don't want to intrude." Lucy says, glancing between the two of them. 

"It'll be nice! I won't have to listen to him whine about the sorry state of his love life if you're there" Robin says hopefully. 

"Hey!" Steve exclaims, "It's not like yours is any better." He argues. 

Robin gives him an unamused glare. "Dude, yours is a mess." She states. Steve just groans and sinks down onto the swivel chair. 

"Well... I am free then? So I could pop over" Lucy agrees cautiously, a slight hopeful smile on her face. 

Steve perks up, grabbing a bit of paper out of the mess on their counter and jots down his address for her. "Friday at seven then?" Robin confirms, handing over the piece of paper. 

"Yea okay, see you then." She replies, their fingers brushing as she takes the paper from her. 

As soon as Lucy is out of sight of the store Robin collapses onto the chair. Her face is flushed bright red and she is grinning widely. "Smooth Robin. Who knew you had it in you." Steve says proudly. 

"Thanks dingus. Means a lot." Robin agrees.

"Good taste too, she's very pretty." Steve says smirking at her. 

"She was! So gorgeous!" Robin sighs. 

"Although, you know neither of have any friends to invite over on Friday." Steve contemplates. 

"Shit. We must know some people? Right?" Robin asks him panicking. 

"Apart from twelve year olds, no." Steve replies and Robin sinks onto the counter groaning. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're all enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it! All your feedback and engagement with this gives me life! X


	8. I couldn't be your friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've definitley struggled finding the motivation and time to write this week, so it didn't really go to plan. But all your comments and support have really helped keep me invested in this story, so thank you all xx

Between the two of them they had just dealt with the usual weekend rush of movie renters and finally had a moment of peace. The shelves were starting to look emptier and certainly messier than they had this morning. "Damn, I hate weekends." Robin comments swiveling around on her stool. 

"I know right? Damn people showing off that they aren't working." Steve adds. 

Robin laughs. "Not that I'll be going anywhere anytime soon." She says. 

Steve winces in sympathy. "Were your parents really mad?" He asks cautiously. 

"Well my mom was alternating between, 'she slept round a BOY'S house' to oh gosh 'she SLEPT round a boy's house'." She says mimicking her mom and her conflicting emotions of excitement and fear. "It was quite amusing to watch." She states, making Steve laugh. 

"Wow, and your dad?" He asks. 

Robin pauses, making Steve look at her questioningly. "He wanted to hunt you down." She says and Steve's eyes widen comically large. 

"He what?!" He hisses at her. 

Robin laughs at his panicked expression. "Chill, I calmed him down. But... maybe steer clear of him for a while." She says. 

Steve slumps back in the chair, groaning in defeat. "I can't believe it, your parents hate me." He says. 

"Forbidden love." Robin teases. 

Steve grasps at his heart dramatically. "I'll wait for you my love!" He cries. 

"But parting is such sweet sorrow, how could I bare to be apart from you" Robin says dramatically. 

Steve laughs. "You're such a nerd." He says fondly. 

"You love me." Robin teases and Steve just smiles at her softly. 

They are interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Both Steve and Robin immediately snap to attention and flush bright red. Their eyes widening in embarrassment when they see Nancy and Jonathan standing awkwardly in front of the counter. "Sorry," Nancy starts saying, "we didn't want to interrupt but…" she says, her sentence drifting off into nothingness as she assesses the two of them. 

"No problem, nice to see you Nance." Steve says awkwardly. "Jonathan." He says nodding his head in acknowledgement. 

"Nice to properly meet you guys, I'm Robin." She says trying to be friendly, holding out her hand to shake. 

"I know." Nancy says, glancing down at the name tag on her shirt. 

Robin's smile falters and awkwardly pulls her hand back when Nancy makes no move to take it. "And I'm sorry about last time Jonathan, I was hungover and grumpy. I swear normally I'm nicer." She explains to him. 

Steve scoffs jokingly at this. "Last time?" Nancy asks, distracting Robin from insulting Steve back. 

Steve chuckles. "Yea Johnny boy here interrupted our hangover, to see if I could look after Will." He explains. 

Nancy gives Jonathan a weird look, which he quickly looks away from. "Hey it's fine, my fault." Jonathan says with a shrug. Robin smiles gratefully at him. 

"So how can we help you?" Steve asks, running his hand through his hair nervously. 

"Oh we wanted to rent this." Nancy says, handing over a video of Footloose. 

Steve groans at the sight of it. Robin glares at him in warning, but he just pulls a face at her. "It's so boring." He says. 

Robin sighs. "What have I said about giving your opinions on movies to customers?" She teases. 

"I know, I know, but god." Steve says. 

"It's fun. Like it's not that bad." Robin tells him. 

"There's no action in it!" Steve argues. 

"It's not an action film!" Robin says laughing. "Anyway you fell asleep halfway through!" She accuses. 

"Exactly!" Steve says and they lock eyes and glare at each other. This then turns into a staring contest and they start pulling faces at each other, trying to make the other laugh and blink first. 

Nancy clears her throat again, interrupting their antics for the second time of the day. Jonathan chuckles. "You're really selling this movie for us." He jokes. 

Nancy glares at him. "Jonathan." She hisses at him. 

Steve laughs. "That's me, master salesman." He jokes. Nancy looks confused at his reaction and keeps glancing between them. 

Robin snorts. "Ha. You struggled to rent 'The Apartment' to Lucy." She teases. 

"I couldn't find it alright! I swear you'd moved it." Steve says defending himself. 

Nancy and Jonathan share a look of confusion. "Who's Lucy?" They ask cautiously. 

Robin goes bright red at this question and opens her mouth to reply but closes it again when no words come out. Steve grins widely. "She's Robin's new friend." He says. 

Robin whacks him on the arm. "Shut up." She murmurs, making Steve burst out laughing. "She's going to think I'm such a weirdo after Friday." She groans, hiding her head in her hands. 

"What's happening Friday?" Jonathan asks, making Robin just groans harder. 

"Robin invited her to a party at mine, which by the way wasn't planned, and we have no friends so there will only be the three of us and that's weird." Steve says, still grinning manically. 

Nancy and Jonathan just stare at them weirdly. "You must really want to be her friend." Jonathan says after a pause. This sets Steve off laughing again. He puts his arm around Robin and she hides her face in his chest. Unbeknownst to Nancy and Jonathan, she uses this to colourfully swear at Steve under her breath. 

"So what do you think, is it weirder to have just the three of us, or shall we invite the kids over?" Steve asks them still chuckling. 

"You are not giving them alcohol!" Nancy says outraged, slamming her hands down onto the counter top. 

"Hey not that kind of party, chill. We'll just stick some movies on and order pizza." Steve says reassuring her. 

"Then yea, invite the kids. Otherwise it'll be a third wheeling situation." Jonathan says, shuffling awkwardly and not meeting their eyes. 

"Oh god I hadn't considered that!" Steve says "Those kids had better come." 

Jonathan laughs at Steve's horror. "I'll talk to Will about it tonight alright? I'm sure they'll come if you're offering them pizza." He tells them. 

"Thanks man." Steve says gratefully. "Hey, would you two fancy coming along?" He asks, cautiously glancing between the two of them, before settling his gaze on Jonathan. 

Jonathan smiles and Steve thinks for a second that he's going to say yes. "Sorry, we're going out for a meal with my parents Friday night." Nancy says, bursting his bubble of hope.

Jonathan looks over at her in confusion. "Is that this week?" He asks. 

"Yes." She says "I told you a few days ago to make sure you weren't working!" 

Jonathan looks panicked for a minute, then relief crosses his face. "That's right, I think I did mention it to them at work." He says and Nancy smiles. "Sorry then, we won't be there." He says apologetically turning back to Steve and Robin. 

Steve shrugs, trying to stop the smile from slipping from his face. "No sweat, hope you have a nice time." He tells them. 

Robin glances at him in confusion and pulls a weird face at him, which he just ignores. "Anyway, let me put this through for you." Robin says picking up the video and scanning it into the till. 

"Thanks." Nancy says gratefully, handing over the money for it. "Anyway, we should probably be off." She says, grabbing Jonathan's hand and smiling at the two of them, but it doesn't quite meet her eyes. 

"Yea, I'll see you around." Jonathan says, sounding reluctant to leave. 

Steve bites his lip and studiously avoids looking at their joined hands. "Sure, see you." He says softly. They turn to leave. "Oh and remember to tell Will about the party! Friday at seven, my place." He calls out. Jonathan turns at his outburst. He smiles and nods, before waving and they both walk out of the store. 

Steve slumps down into his chair and can feel Robin's piercing eyes locked on him. "What the fuck was that?" Robin demands and he sighs. 

"I don't know what you mean." Steve says evasively. 

Robin scoffs. "Course not, inviting them along was purely you being friendly." She says disbelievingly. 

Steve scrunches his face up in confusion and looks at her in confusion. "I do want to be their friend, I know it's weird but I do." He says trying to convince her. 

"Dingus, I know what you flirting looks like when I see it." Robin states putting her hands on her hips and staring him down. At his startled expression, she rolls her eyes at him. "Don't even try and deny it, you went all puffed up and kept playing with your hair as soon as they came in." She tells him. 

Realisation crosses his face and he puts his head in his hands. "Oh my god I was wasn't I?" He breathes out in shock. 

Robin laughs at him. "So much for being over Nancy Wheeler." She teases. 

Steve is silent for a minute, staring down at his shoes. "I wasn't flirting with Nancy." He says quietly, not looking up from the floor. 

"We just established that you were…" she says trailing off as she realises what he meant. "Oh." She murmurs. There's a pause and Steve finally looks up and meets her gaze. They stare at each other for a minute and then Robin breathes out a laugh. "Man you sure do pick 'em." she says with a grin. 

Steve let's out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding and smiles in his relief. "Fucking rude, I have great taste." He says shaking his head at her in amusment. 

A laugh escapes her lips again. "Seriously? Sure. Nothing at all complicated about having a crush on the guy your girlfriend left you for." She says sarcastically. 

He glares at her. "Well I mean, when you say it like that…" he murmurs in embarrassment. 

After hopping up onto the counter, she smirks at him. "How would you say it then?" She asks, grinning widely at him. 

A flush spreads across his cheeks. "He's…. I mean… he's really cool and we actually get on really well." He explains softly. Robin basically squeals at this answer and Steve leaps up and puts a hand over her mouth. "Shhhh." He hisses at her. 

Once he's moved his hand, she grins at him and her feet jiggle excitedly, bashing against the side of the counter. "You really like him don't you?" She says. 

Steve hides his face in his hands and groans. "Shut up." He murmurs. To his relief, the shop door bell goes off saving him from further interrogation. "What a shame, can't talk now." He says jokingly. She pouts at him and mouths 'later' at him. 


	9. Help me now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoy this new chapter xx

Steve pulls up at the Byer's house, tired out from his day at work but looking forward to an evening with friends. He knocks on the door and waits, but doesn't get a quick response. He pauses, then after a minute of awkwardly shuffling on the doorstep, knocks again. He is surprised when the door is then quickly thrown open and Mrs Byers is grinning at him. "Steve!" She says happily, "Sorry I wasn't expecting you yet." She says, ushering him inside. 

Steve flushes and looks at his feet. "Sorry. I know I'm early, I'm not intruding am I?" He asks nervously. 

Joyce shakes her head at him. "Course not dear. Jonathan and Will aren't back from the Wheeler's yet though." She tells him, bustling back into the kitchen to keep her eye on the food. 

Steve follows her in and leans against the counter. "Can I help at all?" He asks, watching her go from one pan to another. 

"No it's all under control." She says, just as one of the saucepans starts bubbling over. Steve quickly grabs a tea towel and lifts the pan off the heat. "Oh gosh, sorry. Maybe an extra pair of hands would be helpful." She says bashfully, making Steve chuckle. 

The chaos in the kitchen quickly subsides with some help and they cook companionly. "When are they meant to back?" He asks as he stirs the food in the pan. 

Joyce looks up and glances over at the clock. "They said they'd try and be back by now." She says worriedly. She pauses and thinks. "But they probably just got chatting, you know what those kids are like." She adds, smiling at Steve. "When are your parents expecting you back?" She asks. 

Steve looks away from her, staring down at the food instead. "They're still away, so it doesn't matter." He says, trying to sound unbothered. 

Steve can feel her eyes on him, but doesn't look up. "They don't know what they're missing." Joyce says, leaving no room for arguments or doubts. He glances up at her and feels a slight twitch of a smile on his lips. "You're always welcome in this house, okay? No matter what." She says and he can feel his emotions welling up inside him. As if she can sense this, she pulls him into a hug. They hear a car pull up in the driveway and see the glare of the headlights through the window. "Looks like the boys are home." Joyce says peering through the window to make sure it is them. Steve quickly blinks away any moisture in his eyes and straightens up. They both jump as the door bangs open and Jonathan storms through the room, going straight to his room and slamming that door behind him. Steve and Joyce share a worried look and then both snap to attention when Will walks through the door, looking very dejected. "Oh honey, what happened?" Joyce asks, hurrying over to him. 

Will snuffles. "Him and Nancy got in a fight." He murmurs clinging to his Mom, who softly murmurs reassurances to him. 

Steve watches them comfort each other and feels like he's intruding on a private moment. He glances down the hall towards Jonathon's room and internally wars with himself as to whether he should go and talk to him. Conflicted, he cautiously walks down the hall and knocks on his door. "I don't want to talk about it Mom!" Jonathan yells from inside. 

Steve pushes the door open anyway. "Not your Mom." He says awkwardly. 

Jonathan had clearly been pacing, but now he freezes and stares at him in shock. "Steve?" He asks in confusion. 

"Hey." Steve says softly. Eyeing Jonathan up and deciding the best way he can help. Steve watches as Jonathan starts pacing again. "You look like you want to punch someone." He comments. 

Jonathan rounds on him, getting up in his face. "Why do you think I wanted to be alone?" He yells at him. Knuckles going white as he clenched them tightly into fists. 

Steve just watches him calmly but cautiously, as he doesn't actually want to get punched again. "It's okay. Trust me, I get it. Sometimes you just need to smash stuff to get it out of your system." He tells him, standing his ground. 

They stare at each other in silence, then Jonathan scoffs. "Like what?" He says kicking a pile of clothes over. 

"I find beer bottles work pretty well myself." Steve says, leaning against the door frame. 

Jonathan looks at him in disbelief. "Oh really, sounds great." He says sarcastically. 

Steve ignores his sarcasm and smiles. "Come on then." He says walking out into the hallway. Hoping he's judged him right and he will follow.

There's a long pause when he thinks he's fucked it all up and Jonathan will just slam the door behind him. "Where are you going?" He hears Jonathan call after him, and he breathes a sigh of relief. 

He turns round and gives Jonathan a wide grin. "To go smash stuff of course." He says. Steve continues walking through the house and hears Jonathan cautiously following along behind him. In the living room he sees Will and Joyce sat on the sofa watching them intently. "Dinner will have to be another night Mrs Byers, me and Jonathan are gonna go out." He tells her, giving her a reassuring smile. 

"No problem dear, look after yourselves." She says, clearly watching Jonathan's every move even though he is looking anywhere but at her and Will. 

Steve grabs Jonathan's wrist, holding back a flinch when Jonathan spins towards him with a glare. Jonathan's expression softens slightly after a minute and lets Steve pull him out of the house. He unlocks the car and they get in, turning the music up high. They pull away from the house and sit in silence while Steve carefully drives along the empty roads. 

He pulls up onto the drive and kills the engine, leaving a heavy silence in its place. Steve opens his door and gets out. Jonathan follows after a pause and slams the door shut. He skulks up towards the house, with his hands stuffed tightly in his hoodie pockets. "Nah, it's this way." Steve calls out after him, gesturing into the woods next to the house. 

"Seriously?" Jonathan says, staring at him in disbelief. 

Steve just ignores him and keeps walking. After rolling his eyes, Jonathan follows and the walk into the edge of the woods. A few minutes later Steve comes to a halt and Jonathan looks around in confusion, trying to figure out what is special about this specific spot. Steve goes rummaging about in the bushes and pulls out a box. "No-one ever comes around here so I used it to store the beer bottles after a party. After a while I just started coming out here when I needed to vent." Steve explains, while pulling a tarpaulin off and grabbing beer bottles out of the box. 

Jonathan shuffles about all the while Steve says this, anxiously staring into the dark shadows between the trees. "Okay, so what now?" He asks. 

Steve finally turns at looks at him. "What need an instruction manual?" He says sarcastically. Before Jonathan can form a reply, Steve grasps a beer bottle and throws it with practised ease at a nearby tree. The glass shatters with a satisfying clatter and the pieces rain down onto the bare ground. The noise makes Jonathan jump slightly but a part of him relishes in the destruction. Before he can ask, Steve is holding another bottle out to him, an expectant look on his face. He eyes the offering for a minute, then cautiously wraps his fingers around the bottle neck pulling it out of Steve's hand. He can feel Steve's eyes on him, but he just contemplates the tree in front of him. He swallows, then half heartedly throws it at the tree. It thuds against the bark, clattering to the ground still in one piece. "You gotta mean it man, put some anger behind it." Steve comments and Jonathan flushes at the failed throw. A second bottle is handed to him and this time he lets his frustration out and properly throws it against the tree. This time the glass shatters into pieces. Steve cheers and Jonathan feels a rush of adrenaline go through him. He grabs another bottle and lobs it at the tree with a cry of frustration. 

Him and Steve alternate throwing the bottles between themselves for a while until Jonathan feels like he can breathe again and a carpet of glass surrounds the tree. "Fuck." Jonathan swears, backing up a few steps and sinking to the ground against a tree. "What's even the point of trying, I'm gonna end up as a waste of space like my dad no matter what I do." He says curling in on himself. 

There's a beat of silence, where the only noise is from the wind whistling through the leaves. "You are nothing like that man." Steve says firmly, sinking down the tree to sit next to him. 

Jonathan scoffs. "Look at me. I'm never going to be able to afford to leave this fucking town or make something of myself. I'm out here smashing bottles because I had a fight with my girlfriend, it's not far to sink." He rants, voice choking up. 

"You can still make something of yourself here, especially with your internship? And even if you're not famous or whatever, who cares. That's not what's important in life." Steve says softly. 

"God Steve I'm not even aiming for famous! Just having a stable job that pays all the bills is all I can even dream of." He sighs. 

Steve shuffles across the ground till his side is pressed against Jonathan's. "There's nothing wrong with that. My dad has a high paying, important job and you think he's happy? I know it's easy to say when we've never struggled for money but it really doesn't solve all your problems." He explains, resting his head against the sharp bark behind him. 

Jonathan chokes out a laugh. "Great, so no one is happy." He says dejectedly. 

"Nah you just gotta find the people who care about you and make it worthwhile. I mean your home is bursting with love man." Steve tells him sincerely. 

Jonathan rolls his eyes in response. "I don't think it's anything special." He dismisses. 

"As someone who hasn't talked to their parents in weeks… who upon seeing the bruises on my face, sneered at me for not being man enough to be the one pulling the punches… yea it is special." Steve says, voice choking up with emotion. Once the words are out he studiously stares straight in front of him into the dark of the trees. 

He feels Jonathan shift next to him and knows that his eyes are watching him. "...as in the bruises from the Russian soldiers?" Jonathan asks after a pause. When Steve doesn't deny this, he interprets this silence as the most acknowledgment of his parents shitty behaviour that he will get at the moment. "Fuck." Jonathan swears. 

The two of them sit in silence for a while. Both of them feeling raw and exposed from the private feelings that have been put into words and shared with each other. "Do you…" Steve says breaking the silence, but trailing off without finishing. Jonathan looks over at him questioningly. "Do you want to… talk about Nancy?" Steve cautiously asks. 

Jonathan picks up a stick off the ground and starts breaking it into pieces. The silence returns for a few moments while he thinks. "I love her. God I really do." He says sincerely, "but… we've been fighting about money, work, college, scholarships, and I just don't know how to fix any of it." He continues, throwing bits of stick as he talks. 

"Trust me, I get it." Steve says humorlessly. "I loved Nancy, still do really, but god we just didn't work." He contemplates. 

This statement makes Jonathan stare down at the ground and scuff his shoes. "I guess I didn't really help either huh?" He says nervously. 

Steve chuckles. "Right. But if it makes you feel any better it was gonna happen eventually, you just sped the process up." He tells him. 

Jonathan half heartedly smiles at that. "People always make out that once you find someone you love, that all your problems are solved. But fuck I can't see how it's going to work between us anymore." He says, sounding exasperated, but also very sad. 

"Look man, the way I see it. It fucking sucks when it happens, but people change and love doesn't have to be forever, you know? You'll find new people to love. So just do what feels right to you, not what you think other people want you to do" Steve says. 

Jonathan turns to face him and stares at him in surprise. "When did you start giving good advice?" He asks in shock. "What's happened to the real Steve?" He jokes, poking him in cheek. 

In response, Steve makes a face at him. "I guess some of Robin's common sense has rubbed off on me." He says with a smirk. Jonathan doesn't reply to that, so they sit in companionable silence for a bit. "You think you're ready to go home?" He asks casually.

After a murmur of agreement they start to clamber up and dust themselves off. As they start walking back to Steve's car, Jonathan shoves his hands in his jacket pockets and stresses over going home. "Stop thinking so hard it's stressing me out." Steve comments and Jonathan glares at him. Steve rolls his eyes at him. "You haven't done anything wrong and I bet the first thing you're gonna do is apologise anyway." He says. Jonathan opens his mouth to argue, but realises he's right and he is already planning what he is going to say to make up for his earlier behaviour. They're soon back at the car and Steve unlocks it ready to drive them back. "Come on, let's get you home." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Health and safety note, please be careful around broken glass!!*
> 
> Anyway, the next chapter is going to be giant cuz its already chapter length and is nowhere near done. Which also means I'm out of reserve chapters so I apologize if uploading is a bit late!


	10. bad idea!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I'm so sorry!! When I said the next chapter might be later I meant like 2 weeks not 2 months! But somehow thats where we are. Whoops. Anyway I hope people are still interested in this! Xx

The Harrington house had been cleaned from top to bottom by Steve and Robin a few hours before everyone was due to arrive. They were laying out a few snacks in the kitchen when the doorbell rings. "Oh my god, what if it's her?" Robin says in a panic, grabbing onto Steve's arm to stop him from going to open the door. 

"Chill, it's probably the kids." He tells her with a laugh, and pries her fingers off of him. He opens the door to reveal Dustin, Lucas and Erica. "Hey man!" Steve exclaims highfiving and fistbumping Dustin. "Erica?" He asks confused.

"My parents were going out, so I'm stuck babysitting." Lucas explains sounding very unimpressed by this fact. 

Erica scoffs, putting her hands on her hips defiantly. "Excuse me! Who are you calling a baby, baby?" She sasses. 

"Well which one of us is older?" Lucas asks, giving Erica an unimpressed look. 

"Technicalities," She says dismissively, "you're still more of a baby than me." Erica says strutting past the boys and into the house. 

Steve stares after her in a stunned silence. "Well come in I guess." He tells them with a shrug. 

Dustin laughs. "Man, I like your sister." He tells Lucas, as he follows her into the house. 

Lucas rolls his eyes at him. "Take that back." He groans. "She's a nightmare." He mutters, mostly to himself, trailing along after them anyway. 

Still standing in the doorway, Steve and Robin share a look. "What have we set ourselves up for?" Robin asks, voice filled with horror. 

"We?!" Steve exclaims, "nuh uh, this is all on you." He jokes, throwing his arm around her shoulders. 

She groans and sinks against his chest. Steve nudges her when he spots headlights getting closer up the drive. Glancing up, she squints and then smirks. "You can let them in. I'll see what trouble the kids have caused already." She says sliding out of his grasp and jogging into the house, leaving him to deal with Jonathan. 

The car pulls up and the lights cut out. Will and Mike clamber out of the car and grin widely at Steve. "The others here?" Mike asks. He nods and they hurry past him to find the rest of their party. More sedately, El and Max walk up to the house, shoulders brushing as they giggle at something between themselves. They nod at Steve as they enter, leaving Steve standing out in the cool night air, staring through the window screen at the drivers side. He can't actually see through the window as it's too dark, but he knows that Jonathan can see him standing under the porch light. Neither of them move for a minute, the car still idling on the drive. 

Taking a deep breath he wanders over to the drivers side of the car. Knocking on the window he steels himself for the worst. There's a pause, when he thinks Jonathan is just going to ignore him and pretend like yesterday never happened. The window starts winding down and he releases a breath in relief. "Hey." Steve says cautiously. He takes in the dark circles and red rimmed eyes and sighs. "You okay?" He asks cautiously. 

Jonathan drops his head against the headrest. "I'm fine." He lies. "What time do you want me to pick them up?" He asks, avoiding looking Steve in the eyes. 

He shrugs. "Doesn't matter. What time is best for you?" He asks, pauses and swallows. "Are you still having dinner with the Wheeler's?" He asks trying not to sound too invested in his answer. 

"No." He says quietly, shaking his head slightly.

"Oh." Steve replies. "Come in then. I'm not going to let you sit at home, on your own, listening to sad songs all evening." He says firmly, grabbing a hold of the door handle and opening it. 

"I'm really not in the mood." Jonathan says. 

"Exactly the time when you need your friends around you." Steve argues, which makes Jonathan sigh but he also switches the engine off and gets out of the car, so Steve counts that as a win. 

They're walking up towards the door when they hear a loud crash in the house, making them both flinch. This leaves a moment of silence, which is quickly filled by the clamour of voices. "Steve!" Robin yells and Steve just stops, closes his eyes and sighs.

Footsteps approach and then Robin appears in the doorway with a very ashamed looking Dustin. "What happened?" Steve asks, not sure he actually wants to know the answer.

"It was an accident!" Bursts out of Dustin. Steve just looks at him and raises his eyebrow unconvinced. "Alright… Robin said there were snacks and I may have knocked a vase over on the way to the kitchen." He says apologetically. 

"You've gotta be more careful, it's probably worth a fortune." Jonathan says, causing Dustin's eyes to widen in horror. 

Steve chuckles. "Chill, nothing we can do now. Just please don't destroy the whole house? Okay?" He tells him, jokingly elbowing Dustin in the shoulder, causing him to grin. 

As Dustin mumbles apologies and promises to not touch anything else all night, Steve catches Robin's eyes focus on something behind him and her cheeks flush pink. "Lucy." She calls in welcome. Everyone turns to face her. Jonathan and Dustin stare at her intently, making it look more like an interrogation than a social gathering. "You came." Robin murmurs softly. 

Lucy smiles awkwardly and half heartedly waves. "Yeah… thought I'd pop by and say hi." She says shuffling slightly under the intense scrutiny of Dustin and Jonathan. 

"Stop staring guys, you're making us look bad." Steve jokes. Lucy smiles gratefully at him, but Robin glares at him for drawing attention to them. 

Dustin snaps out of his scrutinisation. "Sorry, I just didn't know you guys had any friends." He jokes. A remark which makes both Robin and Steve jokingly whack his arms. "Ow!" He cries, and rubs his arms while glaring back at them.

"Are you one of their brothers?" Lucy asks, glancing at the three of them in confusion. 

The group all burst out laughing at that comment. "Nope I'm an only child." Dustin replies in between laughs. "You'd be a great big brother though Steve." He adds. 

"Aww thanks bud." Steve says, grinning widely. 

Robin chuckles at Lucy's now even more confused expression. "Steve's basically adopted a bunch of kids, don't try and figure it out, believe me I've tried." She tells her. 

Her eyes widen. "Kids, as in plural?" Lucy asks cautiously. Robin and Steve share a look. Before they can tell her anything else, the rest of the party come charging out towards them. 

"You coming in yet?" Will calls, then freezes at the sight of Lucy. "Hi?..." He says cautiously. 

Jonathan smiles reassuringly at him. "This is my brother Will." He says. "I'm Jonathan by the way." He adds. Will waves, while the other party members introduce themselves. 

"Okay I think that's overwhelmed Lucy enough, let's go inside and get settled." Robin says ushering the kids inside. 

The kids all stumble into the living room, sprawling onto the sofas and cushions piled on the floor. Steve and Jonathan decide to try and collect all the kids pizza requests, but it turns into a very loud debate about whether pineapple should be allowed on pizza or not. Robin and Lucy hang back from the chaos. "Do you want a drink?" Robin asks her, nodding towards the kitchen. Lucy agrees with a grin and they head into the empty kitchen.

There's a peaceful quiet in the room while Robin grabs two beers from the fridge and roots around in the drawer for a bottle opener. "Not quite the party I was expecting if I'm being honest." Lucy says with a sly smile as she takes the beer off of Robin. 

She flushes in response. "Yeah I guess it is a bit of an unconventional group." Robin admits. She clinks the bottle with Lucy's in a toast and takes a much needed gulp. "Eugh, when will this stop tasting disgusting?" She says with a grimace. Lucy laughs, almost snorting beer down herself in surprise. She holds a hand over her mouth in horror but relaxes when Robin just joins in the laughter. 

"So how do you all fit together then?" Lucy asks curiously, leaning against the kitchen counter. 

Robin looks at her thoughtfully for a minute, contemplating her answer. "Oh man, this'll take a while." She says, hopping up onto the counter and making herself comfortable. "So, the boys have been friends forever as far as I can tell, then El came along and won over poor Mike's heart and led them into all sorts of adventures. Then Max moved here and Lucas and Dustin were both crushing on her, but she's dating Lucas now. At least I think she is? They're a bit on and off. And Steve became friends with them through Mike's older sister, Nancy, who is now his ex." She explains. Lucy looks shocked at this explanation and nods for her to continue. "To make things even more complicated, Jonathan, Will's brother, is the guy Nancy kind of cheated on Steve with and they're still together." She adds, all the while grinning at Lucy's shocked expression. 

"And they're still friends?" She exclaims. 

"Well weirdly they weren't friends until after all that happened. Steve used to be like this asshole popular kid and they hated each other." Robin answers. 

"That sounds like a lot of history." Lucy says after a pause, trying to get the story straight in her head. "What about you and Steve then?" She asks casually.

"I knew of him at school, but it wasn't until we worked at Scoops Ahoy over the summer that we became friends. Then the mall... burned down, and we got jobs at the family video together." She tells her, smile slipping slightly when she mentions the mall. 

"Are you… together?" Lucy asks, picking at the paper label on the bottle nervously. 

"Not my type." Robin says after taking a deep breath and makes sure to hold eye contact with her. 

Lucy bites her lip and smiles softly. She leans in towards Robin and whispers in her ear. "He's not my type either." She says. 

Robin giggles happily. "Aw poor Steve." She says with a laugh. 

"Poor Steve what?" He says popping his head around the door, making them both jump. 

A gap forms between the two of them. Robin bursts out laughing making Lucy jump again. "Just that we both don't like you." She jokes. 

Steve gasps in mock horror. "You wound me." He says, hand clutching his chest. "I was going to ask what pizza you wanted but now…" he says, backing out of the kitchen. 

"Noooo!" Robin cries. "You can't withhold pizza from me!" She says running after him. She leaps onto his retreating back and he stumbles slightly but manages to stay standing. Her arms and legs wrap around him, as he protests loudly. The kids start to gather around watching in amusement. They all start calling out bets on who the winner will be. 

After much giggling Steve eventually admits defeat, when he can't throw her off due to the crowd of kids around them. "Fine! God. You can order the pizza yourself then." Steve grumbles jokingly, pushing her towards the phone. The kids all disperse back and fight to claim the best spots on the sofas, now that the excitement is over. Robin rolls her eyes at him, but dials the number anyway. 

By the time the pizzas arrive, the kids had done much debating and finally decided on a movie to watch. They all smushed onto the sofas and bean bags, mouths already stuffed with pizza and pressed play on the video. Steve notices how Robin and Lucy are sat closer than is strictly necessary on the sofa, causing a smile to cross his lips. Maybe there might be something there. 

The movie night is going better than Steve was expecting, especially since he let the kids chose the film. Everyone looks cosy and content, but most importantly they are all safe and where he can keep an eye on them. He zones out of the plot of the story a bit as he considers his new group of friends. After a glance around at everyone, he notices that Jonathan is squeezed next to Will and Dustin who are currently going through a running commentary of the film and all the extra information that anyone could possibly know about one thing. Silently laughing at Jonathan's lost face and confused expression. 

Although after observing him for a minute he sees the strain in his face to keep engaged and a slight twitch in his neck, and considers how to save him from their enthusiasm. He casually stretches out and ambles over to the group. "I'm just gonna grab some drinks and stuff, can you give me a hand Jonathan?" Steve asks, barely giving him chance to reply before walking off out of the living room. 

After hearing Jonathan making his excuses to the kids, Steve opens the fridge to grab two beers for them. "What do you want?" Jonathan cautiously asks, leaning around the kitchen door. 

Steve knocks the fridge door shut and waves the beers at him. "Not what I want, it's what you need." He states, handing one of the bottles over and them rummaging in the drawers for a bottle opener. Jonathan scrunches up his face in confusion and grunts at him. "Aha!" Steve exclaims, brandishing the bottle opener. He opens both their bottles and clinks his own against Jonathan's. "Come on, you looked like you needed a break from thirteen year old boys." He says and leads him out the room and up the stairs. 

Once in his room, Steve balks slightly at the implications but takes a swig of beer to cover his nerves. "What are we doing?" Jonathan asks sounding distracted, because Steve can see him observing his room, from the old sports trophies to the pile of dirty clothes in the corner. 

"Escaping the children, duh." Steve replies, throwing himself onto his bed. 

"Thanks… I love them, but… I don't have the most patience for them today." Jonathan says awkwardly swirling the bottle around in his hand. 

Steve chuckles. "I hear you." He says sympathetically. There's a pause then and Steve eyes him up. "You can sit down you know." He says in amusement, watching as Jonathan awkwardly leans against his old desk. He startles slightly at that, eyes darting around the room before settling on the bed. Like a rabbit in the headlights, he reluctantly walks across the room and perches on the edge of the bed. 

"Christ, everything has to be difficult with you hasn't it?" Steve says fondly, tapping the mattress. 

Jonathan rolls his eyes at that remark but does shuffle further onto the bed, arms hugging his knees. "Is that what you say to all the girls?" He says with a smirk, that doesn't come across as confident as he was aiming for. 

"Why Jonathan, I didn't know you were interested!" Steve says teasingly, trademark smirk at full power. Jonathan's eyes dart to Steve's in a slight panic, visibly tensing up slightly. Steve shuffles across the remaining space between them, so their legs are pressed together. He takes a deep breath and places his hands on Jonathan's shoulders, one hand sliding back to run through the short hairs on the back of his head. "Is that something you'd be into?" He asks softly, leaning forward so their noses were almost brushing. 

As soon as they touch, Jonathan bolts away like he's been electrocuted. "What the fuck is wrong with you man?!" He exclaims, quickly backing away towards the door. The door slams shut behind him, as Steve feels the weight in his stomach plummet. He collapses onto his back on the bed with a groan of frustration and blinks away the moisture in his eyes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I guess now I apologise for that too...


	11. Share your address

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a quicker update than last time! But also I apologize cuz I've really come back with the angst. 
> 
> TW. Child abuse and homophobic attitudes

Steve Harrington has official had a day. He's worked behind the till all day, dealing with snotty customers arguing over even the smallest overdue fees. He hadn't even had Robin to keep him company as he was stuck working with Keith today. What little moments of quiet he'd had during the day, had been consumed by the crushing fear of what Jonathan is going to do. But judging by the cold shoulder and icey glares he'd got when he eventually braved the living room again, it wouldn't be good. Closing time couldn't come fast enough. 

As he trudged up the driveway he was ready to just collapse on the sofa, order takeout and not move all evening. Unfortunately for those plans, his dad's car was sitting pride of place on the drive and he could already hear the shouting match going on inside. His stomach sinks and he contemplates just turning around. After a few moments he decides to just face them, and by which he means slink by up to his room without them noticing him. 

The key slots into the lock and he gently closes the door behind him. He's toeing off his shoes when he hears the clink of high heels across the oak flooring. He turns and puts a smile on his face for his mother. "There you are dear, we've been back hours and not seen a sign of you." She says, leaning over to him and kissing his cheeks. 

He rolls his eyes at her. "I was working Mom." Steve tells her, knowing that it won't do any good. 

Just as he thought she ignores his explanation. "Come into the other room, me and your father want to talk to you about something." She says, putting her arm around his shoulder and leading him down the hall. That's when he realises his mistake. Clearly the argument was about him. 

They walk into the living room where his father is sat on the sofa with his feet up on a foot stool and a beer in his hand. His dad grunts at him when he walks in. "You're home then." He says dismissively. Steve nods, hovering by the doorway awkwardly. "We've told you before, we don't approve of you having parties while we're gone and now you're not even hiding them! Bottles strewn on the kitchen counter, pizza boxes everywhere and your mother's vase smashed. Do you think we're stupid?" He says disapprovingly. 

"Sorry Dad. I just had a few friends around." Steve says quietly. 

At this his father puts his beer down and stands up. "That's another thing we wanted to talk to you about." He says walking over towards him. Steve clasps his fingers in a fist, fingernails digging into his palm. "I was talking to one of my buddies about you. He said you've fallen out with your old friends, your girlfriend cheated on you and you've been hanging about with a bunch of losers." He says distastefully. 

"What's your point Dad?" Steve asks hoping to get the lecture of with as quickly as possible. 

The expression on his Dad's face goes murderous then. "You had better get your act together kid." He says jabbing a finger at Steve's chest. "Do you know what it does to my reputation when people hear my son's been hanging out with freaks like the Byers!" He says, slowly forcing Steve backwards, until he runs out of space and his back is pressed against the wall. 

Hands shaking and his back pressed against the wall. "They're my friends! I don't need your approval." Steve says, voice more desperate than he intended. 

His mother steps up and puts her hand on his father's arm. "Listen sweetie, we're not trying to force you to do anything. But think about it. They're not our sort of people, dear." She says softly and giving him a sickly sweet smile. 

"Why? Because they're poor?" Steve snaps at her. 

He hears the slap before he feels it. "Don't talk to your mother like that!" His Dad snaps back at him. 

He desperately looks to his mother for support, but she just looks away, not meeting his eyes. "Of course not dear, but the father was an alcoholic, the mother is crazy and if what people say about those boys is true, then you do not want to be associated with them." She explains, every word cutting into him like a knife. 

His father turns to face her. "What about them?" He asks and Steve holds his breath hoping she's not going to say the words he's been dreading. 

"Well… it seems unlikely she'll be getting any grandkids, is all I'll say." She gossips, as if what she was saying couldn't ruin someone's life. 

A disgusted look crosses his face. Then he rounds on Steve, grabbing his shirt and shoving him back against the wall. "Is that true?" He demands. Steve desperately shakes his head. "Well you had better be careful with who you associate with, otherwise people will be talking about you." He says in warning, letting go of him and walking back to his chair and beer.

Feeling weak at the knees Steve stumbles out of the room and up into his room, sinking against the closed door. He sits there for an indefinite length of time, but eventually his anxious energy bubbles over and he paces up and down the room. Fed up with the silence and knowing he won't be able to relax in this house any time soon, he makes a decision. Checking the door to his room was locked, he grabs his wallet, coat and some shoes and opens the window. Clambering onto the garage roof and lowering himself down gives him the feeling of deja vu from all the nights he used to sneak out to go to parties or to meet girls. He knew better than to take the car, so he trudges down the road until he gets to the nearest phone box. 

The money goes into the machine and he dials the number he knows off by heart now and waits as it rings. "Hello." Robin answers. 

"Hey Rob." He replies, feeling a surge of relief. 

"Sup loser." She says. 

"You busy?" He asks tentatively. 

"Nah, I was studying, but it's nothing urgent." She tells him. 

"Nerd." He jokes and she laughs. "You want to go get pancakes?" He asks hopefully. 

"Duh." She replies. "You gonna pick me up?" She asks and the air catches in his throat. 

"...no I can't. I was hoping for a ride on the back of your bike." He says, joke falling flat. 

"Are you okay?" She asks worriedly There's a silence on the phone for a minute. "Steve, where are you?" She asks. 

"Sorry, I'm at the phone box round the corner from my house." He tells her, choosing not to answer her other question, otherwise he'd lose it. 

"I know it," she says cautiously. "I'll be ten minutes and then you are telling me what is wrong." She tells him and he chuckles at her stubbornness. 

"Okay." He says softly as the phone cuts out and he's left with the silence in his head. 

Luckily for him there's a bench next to the phone box, so he sits there, watching the wind blowing through the trees. Thankfully it doesn't take long before he spots Robin speeding down the road towards him, hair streaming behind her. She pulls up beside him, dropping the bike on the floor and looks him up and down. "Has someone hit you?" She demands, staring at what he imagines is the growing redness on his cheek. 

He looks down at his shoes. "Please don't go there Robin." He says softly, picking at the seam of his jeans. 

"Steve." She says, sounding very sad. 

"No don't." He replies. "Look, my Dad was talking to Tommy H's dad and now he knows that I'm not friends with all of them and that I'm hanging around with Byers now. Which he did not like." He explains. 

Robin looks confused for a minute. "Christ is your dad really that bothered by status." She says in disbelief. Steve just gives her a look, because he must have told her enough for her to know this already. "Alright, sorry!" She says, "So he doesn't like Jonathan, does it matter?" She asks. 

Scuffing his shoes, Steve bites his lip. "It wouldn't matter… except my Mom had to start gossiping about the rumours that they're gay." He says. 

"Oh." Robin says.

"Yea very big oh." Steve agrees.

Robin looks very worried now. "Well only you and me know about… so he can't suspect that." She says cautiously. Steve sighs and shakes his head sadly. "What? Who else knows?" She asks surprised. 

Steve avoids her eyes for a minute. "Jonathan." He says softly. Robin gasps in surprise and looks at him in confusion. "I kind of tried to kiss him on Friday." He tells her awkwardly. 

Her eyes widen. "You did?!" She gasps. 

Steve turns bright red. "Turns out he wasn't happy about that either." He says and lets out a sad laugh. 

Grabbing his hand, Robin sits down on the bench next to him. "I guess that explains why you were both acting weird that evening then." She says in contemplation. Steve gives her an unimpressed glare and she giggles. "Sorry. But Jonathan would never out you right?" She asks. 

He squeezes her hand tightly in fear. "I don't know." He says sadly. "He… he sounded horrified at the idea Rob." He tells her. 

Rubbing her thumb across the back of his hand reassuringly, she leans against his side. "I'm not saying everything will work out great, but I really don't think he would do that Steve." She tells him honestly. She looks up at him with a slight grin. "Plus his Mom would kill him if he outed anyone, especially you." She adds and he chuckles. 

"She is definitely not someone to mess with." He agrees, feeling slightly less like he was going to explode from anxiousness now that he had talked it out. 

After sitting there in companionable silence for a bit, Robin gets up and stretches. "We'll figure something out, okay?" She promises him and he smiles back at her. "Now I think you promised me pancakes." She states, making him laugh. She grabs the bike back up off the ground and gets on, holding still for Steve to climb on the back. Once he's wrapped his arms around her, she sets of peddling. She was definitely feeling the additional weight now, but soon gets some momentum going. 

They speed through the streets, making it to the high street in no time. The streets are dark and deserted, with only the occasional street lights to light the way. The Waffle House has only got a couple of customers huddled in the booths. They find a quiet corner and order their waffles. Steve picks at his fingernails while they wait until Robin closes her hand around his. "It's going to be okay, bud." She says softly. 

Steve sighs. "How do you know?" He asks quietly. 

They lock eyes for a minute. "Because we've been through so much shit, that you are not going to let your shitty parents stop you." Robin says passionately. Steve grins in surprise and she rests her head on his shoulder. "I mean… we could always get a flat together and then you'd never have to see them." She says softly.

Steve misses a breathe when she says that. He jolts up, knocking her head off his shoulder. "Are you serious?" He demands. 

She looks up at him and glares at him for disturbing her. "Duh. Of course, dingus." She states and sloaches down on the seat and puts her feet up on the opposite bench. 

The bell rings in the background and customers bustle about. "You want to move in with me?" Steve teases, grabbing her hand and playing with her fingers. 

"Why do I like you?" Robin says dramatically, sinking her head back onto his shoulder. 

"You just want the private room huh?" Steve says with a smirk. Robin blushes and hides her face in his neck. 

She looks up at him and smirks. "I mean… it's always been a dream of mine to be considered living in sin with a boy." She teases and they both burst out laughing.

Once their laughter calms down, Steve sobers up a bit. "If we do this… people will assume that. They will talk." He says. 

Robin sighs. "I know. They always will though, because I'm never going to marry a guy." She says sadly. 

"Okay then. We'll figure it out." He tells her, squeezing her hand in support. He feels her smile against him and doesn't want to ever leave their little bubble of safety. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry! I promise things will start looking up soon!


	12. If they only knew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, it's been over a month. I'm not even gonna excuse that. So, Merry Christmas guys!! Hope you like the new chapter and are having a nice day x

A fly was buzzing around in circles over Steve's head. He watches as it circles around and around, before landing on the wall near the ceiling. "Steve?" Mike calls out to him from the table, sounding impatient. He makes a noise of surprise and startles out of his daydream. "You've not listened to any of that have you?" He asks sounding resigned. 

Steve looks up at the kids from his position lying on the sofa in Mike's basement. He tries to remember anything they'd just been telling him but came up blank. "Sorry?" He says, not actually sounding very apologetic. 

The kids all groan at him. "Why are you even here if your not going to join in?" Mike asks, sounding exasperated. 

Steve shrugs. "Got nothing better to do than hang out with you shitheads." He says, grinning widely at the kids. 

The party all glare at him and Dustin throws a pillow at his head. "Don't lie! You love spending time with us!" He argues loudly. 

Steve screws his face up in thought. "Well my alternative is talking to my parents, so you win on that score?" He tells him, trying not to laugh at Dustin's outraged face. 

He looks over at the other kids and sees Will give him a worried look. "Are they actually home at the moment then?" He asks cautiously. They lock eyes for a moment and a flash of understanding passes over his eyes. 

A laugh startles them, breaking their eye contact. "God yeah parents are so annoying." Mike groans. 

"Yes! Mine have gone so over the top recently." Lucas agrees, sparking a debate over whose parents have been the most overbearing. 

After a long debate, Will slams his hands on the table in frustration. "Can we please start the campaign now!" He says. Everyone abruptly shuts up and looks straight at him.

Mike looks apologetic at Will. "Sorry." He says quietly. "I know this was your choice of activity today." He says, giving Dustin and Lucas a look. 

"Yeah sorry Will, we got distracted." Dustin says apologetically. "So Steve are you playing? It's actually really simple if you pay attention." Dustin tells him hopefully. 

"I don't think so kid." Steve says with a chuckle. "Look, why don't you play a game and I'll watch and try and figure it all out?" He says when Dustin pulls the sad eyes at him. 

They all roll their eyes at him. "It's not a game! It's a campaign." Will corrects him with a sly grin. 

Steve laughs. "Sorry, I'm not wise like you." He jokes. He stretches his legs out on the sofa, hanging his feet over the armrest and making himself comfy. The kids chatter and the D&D campaign blurs into a background hum as he relaxes, closing his eyes for just a minute…

The creak of the stairs wakes him and he cracks his eyes open blearily. The blurry image of Nancy walking down the stairs with a tray of drinks was enough to rowse him from his nap and almost fall off of the sofa. "Nancy! What are you doing here?" He asks clambering to sit up straight. 

The unimpressed eye roll she gives him makes him want to shrink in on himself. Sometimes he forgets how fierce Nancy can be when she choices to. "Mom wanted me to bring the boys drinks as she knows they get too engrossed in their game to get up off their asses." She says, glaring at the boys as they groan but still each take the drinks off her. 

"Thanks Nancy." Will murmurs. 

"Your welcome Will." She tells him, then side-eyes Mike. "At least someone has manners." She says pointedly. Leading to a quick flurry of thank yous from the rest of them, and some eye rolls when she's not looking. "Sorry didn't know you were here Steve." She says. 

He blinks, trying to reboot the panic swirling in his gut from seeing her. "I er… I was just…" he stutters out, not sure what he's even trying to say. 

Luckily for him Nancy just looks amused. "You taking in strays again Mike?" She jokes and Steve flushes, looking down at his hands. Her joke hitting a little too close to home for his liking. 

Mike just scoffs. "Nah he won't play D&D with us." He jokes and they all laugh. Only Dustin picks up on his silence and gives him a questioning look, that he tries to brush off. 

She starts to head back up the stairs and the overwhelming feeling of panic consumes him again. "Nancy!" He calls out, making her turn around and look at him. He freezes again. He wants to ask about Jonathan but has no idea how to phrase any of it without giving it all away. "How have you been?" He asks, wanting to smack himself for how lame that sounds. 

She's silent for a minute. "I've been okay." She says watching him intently. 

"I mean… I know you and Jonathan are…" he says trailing off, not quite knowing how to finish that sentence. He's also not sure what answer he wants to hear. 

Her eyes go wide. "We… you…" she stutters out. "How do you know Jonathan and I broke up?" She says quietly and only because he loved her could he spot the emotion hiding in her eyes. 

The kids all gasp. "You did what?" They cry out, but Nancy's eyes stay locked on Steve. 

He fidgets under her strutiny, realising that Jonathan at least hasn't told her about what happened at the party. "He came to our movie night… and he told me." He says cautiously. 

Nancy deflates at that answer. "Oh." She says quietly. Her mask drops and she looks heartbroken. 

Silence falls on the group and Steve's stomach drops, as he realises he's really put his foot in it. "God sorry Nance, I shouldn't have said anything." He says, standing up and taking the few steps towards her. She falls into his outstretched arms and quietly cries onto his shoulder. Steve cautiously rubs her back and murmurs comforting words. 

With a sniff, Nancy wipes her eyes and straightens up. Turning her face away from the kids, to hide the redness around her eyes. "Anyway I'm gonna go…" she says sniffing and quickly walking back up the stairs. 

Everyone is intently watching her in silence, until she is out of sight. After they determine she is out of hearing distance, all eyes turn in synchronisation to Steve. "What the fuck was that dude!" Dustin demands. 

He blinks at their stunned faces. "What? It was only a hug." Steve says in confusion. 

"Yeah with your ex girlfriend, who has just apparently broken up with her boyfriend!" Mike says loudly, gesticulating wildly to try and convey the absurdity of the situation. 

Steve couldn't quite come up with an explanation that would make sense, because his feelings towards Nancy were complicated enough without trying to explain them to the kids. "Is that what you and Jonathan fought about on Friday?" Will asks quietly. 

Time freezes for a minute, until it fully registers what he asked. While Will clearly knew they had fallen out, he didn't know why. He lets out a breath in relief. "No kid, that was… something different." He tells him, hoping they won't pry too much into that. 

The other kids look at Will, clearly shocked at him chiming up in a conversation of this topic. "So you're still friends?" Will asks. 

Mike scoffs. "Since when were you and Jonathan friends?" He asks in disbelief, sharing a confused look with Lucas and Dustin.

Ignoring the kids confusion, Steve just addresses Wills concerns. "I'm sure we will be bud, we've just gotta talk some stuff out." He says optimistically, trying to convince himself as well as Will. 

A worried look appears on Dustin's face. "You know, you can tell us if there's stuff going on." He tells Steve, giving him a meaningful look. 

Steve's eyes widen in panic, heart beating wildly at the thought that the kids might have figured out about his feelings for Jonathan. "Don't know what you mean, there's nothing going on." Steve lies, and even he doesn't believe himself. 

Internally freaking out at the sight of the disbelieving looks of the kids, he prepares for the worst. "Well that's a lie if I ever heard one." Lucas states, sounding completely done with Steve's shit. 

"So what's going on? Is it the Upside Down? The Russians?" Mike asks and Steve's heart hurts when he realises this is what these kids are having to constantly worry about.

He notices Will biting back a laugh and curses him for being so observant. "No no, nothing like that is happening!" Steve reassures them, but notices that Mike and Dustin share a look and roll their eyes at each other. 

"Fine. We'll figure it out on our own then." Mike says with a huff. 

"What? No! I swear we're not hunting monsters or Russians!" Steve argues, but can see that now the idea is in the kid's heads that he is lying to them, he won't be able to persuade them otherwise. So as he is unwilling to tell them the truth he zones out of the conversation again, contemplating what the hell he is going to do now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I will finish this eventually!


	13. Bite my tongue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been ages again I know, but thank you for all the lovely comments on the last chapter! You guys are the reason this chapter is actually written and not left to rot in my Google docs x

Robin has been pacing the aisles of the video store for most of the day, straightening the videos on the shelves in one circuit and then adjusting them askew on the next. She'd even been pouncing on every customer that entered the store to try and give them recommendations, although had mostly only succeeded in clearing the store of customers in record time. Most worryingly, during the breaks between customers she had been cleaning every surface she could reach. "Robin." Steve says from behind the counter. She grunts, but doesn't look up, so he's not sure if it's response to him or just because she's stretching with the duster to get rid of the cobwebs. "Will you please sit down Robin!" He says in exasperation. 

She glares at him from across the aisle. Reluctantly, she drags her feet over to the desk and flops down on the chair. "Happy now?" She asks, crossing her arms over her chest petulantly. 

Steve rolls his eyes at her and hops up onto the countertop. "Tell me what's got you all worked up?" He asks her gently. 

The chair swivels as she spins around, trying to avoid eye contact with him. "Nothing." She lies. Steve gives her his best puppy dog eyes and stares at her until she finally gives in and looks at him. She tries to hold the glare, but can not stop a smile from creeping into her face. "Fine! Alright! You win!" She says in defeat, finally laughing at his ridiculous expression. "Lucy asked me to go to the movies with her, and I have no idea what to do." She says all in a rush. 

There's an awkward moment of silence while Steve blinks at her, trying to process what she just said. Then it clicks and a wide grin spreads across his face. "Little Robin has a date!" He crows excitedly, making her clamber over to him, pressing her hand against his mouth to try and shut him up. She succeeds for a minute, but then he licks her hand, making her cry out in disgust and release him. 

They sit there grinning at each other for a moment. "So… did you at least say yes?" Steve asks with a smirk. Her hands fly up to hide her face, as a blush starts to spread over her face. Steve whoops out a celebration when she nods. "When's the date then?" He asks, sounding thrilled at this new gossip. 

Hands come away from her face and she bites her lip. "Tonight." She murmurs, looking both incredibly excited and terrified. 

Steve's eyes widen. "Why didn't you say so earlier?!" He exclaims, jumping into a frenzy. "There's so much I need to teach you!" He says excitedly. 

Robin backs away in horror, shaking her head as she goes. "No, no, no." She says. "I do not need dating advice from you dingus." She crosses her arms over her chest and gives him a stern look. Steve pouts and gives her the puppy dog eyes again. "Aurgh, fine! One piece of advice and then we are dropping this subject, deal?" She tells him. 

The moment of silence and Steve's serious thinking expression surprises her, as she was expecting him to make some crude joke, not give actual advice. "Try not to stress about it and actually enjoy yourself. Dating is supposed to be fun." Steve tells her, which she actually finds slightly reassuring. 

Not wanting to make everything soppy, she makes a joke out of it. "Oh yea I'm sure you had so much fun studying with prissy Miss Wheeler." She teases.

Steve looks surprised for a minute, then a smile spreads across his face and he winks obnoxiously at her. "Well… with the right nudge, those evenings could be very enjoyable." He says, looking obnoxiously pleased with himself. 

She groans loudly. "Gross." She mutters, making Steve laugh. 

"You really underestimate Nancy, she's actually pretty badass." Steve tells her. 

Robin rolls her eyes at him. "I'm not convinced, dingus." She tells him, mostly just because she likes to provoke him rather than actually disliking Nancy. She had certainly seemed capable that night at the mall. 

"Rob! When have I ever lied to you?" Steve says jokingly outraged, putting his hands on his hips and raising his eyebrows at her. 

After staring at him in shock for a minute, she bursts out laughing. "Literally this morning, when you said you were stuck in traffic and didn't just oversleep!" She exclaims. 

Excuses and lies tumble out of Steve's mouth at that accusation, but after a minute of blustering he gives in and looks guiltily down at his shoes. "Okay maybe I exaggerated a little bit…" he says and she just gives him an unimpressed look. "Alright fine, I overslept." He admits. Robin cheers at his admission of guilt. Steve scuffs his shoes on the floor in thought. He brightens up when inspiration strikes. "I'll make it up to you!" He says brightly. She eyes him suspiciously. Steve glances up at the clock in the corner. "We've only got like twenty minutes, so you go. I'll lock up and everything." He tells her. 

Robin's eyes light up in hope. "Seriously?" She says excitedly. Mistrust quickly covers her excitement. "Do you even remember how to cash up properly?" She asks doubtfully, knowing full well that whenever they are on shift together she does the tills while he tidies or sometimes just hangs around annoying her. 

At Steve's silence she presumes that the answer is no and rolls her eyes at him. "Look it'll be fine, we've got those guides for new starters right?" He says, doubt laced through his voice. He starts hunting around trying to find it in the desk drawers. Robin clears her throat, making him glance back up at her. She is stood there holding the papers out. "Thanks!" Steve says brightly, ignoring her teasing expression. 

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Robin asks doubtfully. 

Steve shoves her playfully. "It's not that hard Rob! I have done it before. Now just go! Get ready for your date!" He tells her. She smiles nervously at him and nods. She goes into the backroom to collect her stuff. 

Once she comes back out the backroom, wrapped up in a brightly coloured scarf, she wraps him in a tight hug. "Thanks bud." She says softly. 

He squeezes her back equally tightly. "Ring me later and tell me everything." He tells her with a grin. She rolls her eyes and disentangles herself from his arms. "Don't do anything I wouldn't!" He calls after her jokingly. She puts her middle finger up over her shoulder as she struts out of the shop, to Steve's amusement. 

After she's gone, Steve mills about the store clearing up and serving a few late customers. He cashes up, only having to refer to the guide once or twice, switches the lights off and locks up. He wanders around to the staff car parking spaces behind the store, humming the latest pop song that had been playing on the radio all day. He startles when he sees the shadow of a figure leaning up against his car. He freezes. "Who's there?" He calls out. 

The figure leaning against his car startles at the question. "Fuck Steve you scared me." Jonathan says, breathing faster as his heart rate settles. 

A laugh startles out of Steve despite his anxiety about this conversation. "I scared you?!" He exclaims, "You were the one waiting in the dark for me! I thought I was gonna get robbed or something." He complains, voice trailing off as he meets Jonathan's eyes. Fuck he'd missed him. 

Jonathan's eyes widen. "Fuck, sorry I hadn't considered that." He says, wringing his hands together nervously. "So err… how have you been?" He stutters out. 

Steve gives him an odd look. "Oh grand, spent my day off with the kids playing that game of theirs." He says, giving some meaningless hand gesticulations as an explanation. 

"Dungeons and Dragons?" Jonathan asks, trying to hold back a laugh. 

Steve's eyes light up in recognition. "That's the one." He says, smirking when Jonathan rolls his eyes at him. 

"You're such a nerd now." Jonathan says fondly. But in the midst of their grins, there is still the big white elephant of the room to be mentioned. His smile fades and his expression goes serious. "Can we talk about it?" He asks, biting his lip with nerves. 

A spike of anxiety surges through Steve. "Talk about what?" He asks, playing dumb to postpone the inevitable fallout. 

The unimpressed look Jonathan gives him, says he's seeing straight through his bullshit. "You know exactly what I'm talking about Steve." He says seriously, stuffing his hands into his jeans pockets to stop him constantly moving them. 

Steve bites the inside of cheek, trying to hold it all together. "Seriously? Why? Can't we just leave it?" He asks with a sigh. 

Jonathan's eyes scrunch up in annoyance. "No we can't just leave it! It's wrong and I don't want to be responsible for keeping this secret for you." He says, letting his emotions get the better of him. 

Pure fear runs through Steve's veins. So much for Robins reassurances that this wouldn't happen, he's officially fucked if this gets out. "Secret?" He scoffs, "God you just can't take a joke can you?" He sneers, feeling himself falling right back into the old Steve mask. His chest puffs up and he takes a step closer to the car. 

A complicated slew of emotions cross Jonathan's face, too fast for Steve to comprehend at the best of times, let alone with his own emotions running wild behind his mask. "Right of course, I should have known." He says, shaking his head in disbelief. "God how could I have forgotten what a dick the great Steve Harrington is?" He sneers, giving him one last glare and then storming off towards the high street. 

Steve collapses against the car as soon as he's out of sight. "Fuck." He swears under his breath. He turns around and kicks his car with a cry of frustration. He unlocks the door and gets in, slamming the door behind him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm sorry! Jonathan turned out to be in this a lot less than I had planned ...and I swear they will PROPERLY COMMUNICATE SOON x


	14. Safe in my hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has commented recently, you don't have to wait an entire month for this chapter! I love talking to you all so please let me know what you think! X

A fitful night's sleep later and Steve stumbles out of bed and wanders downstairs into the kitchen. His mom is leaning against the counter with a glass of orange juice, that Steve suspects has been spiked with champagne already. "Morning love, sleep well?" She asks, although her attention seems to be focused more on the radio playing in the background than on him.

He grunts something out in response and grabs his own glass of juice. "Where's Dad?" He asks cautiously. She murmurs an agreement, clearly not listening to him. "Mom! Where's Dad? He repeats, louder this time. 

She finally looks at him then. "Oh sorry love, he's got a meeting. He'll be back this afternoon though, some of his business chums are coming over for drinks." She says distractedly. 

He finishes his drink, puts the glass by the sink and walks back out the kitchen. Once upstairs, he has a shower and gets dressed. Grabbing the phone off the wall, he dials Dustin's number and waits for him to answer. 

"Hello?" A woman's voice answers, throwing him off. Trying to remember if he dialed the right number he asks if he could speak to Dustin, in the hope that it's just his mother not the wrong house. "Oh yea of course hun, I'll just call him." She replies, to Steve's great relief. He hears her loudly calling to him and waits. 

"Hello?" Dustin asks, sounding out of breath from running to the phone. 

"Hey buddy! It's Steve." He says. 

"What's up? ...Is something happening?" He says sounding worried and clearly asking about monsters without his Mother overhearing anything incriminating. 

"What? No." He says, worried that that's what all the kids seem to think at the moment. "Look I'm just bored, wanna hang out?" He says, hating himself for how desperate he sounds. 

Dustin makes an undecided noise. "I dunno, I'm working on my science project. It's due on Monday…" he explains and Steve's stomach sinks. 

"Can I help?" He asks hopefully. 

He can hear the fear in Dustin's voice when he replies. "No!" He exclaims. "It's a solo project, but look if you want you can come over…" he adds after the initial shock subsides. 

"Yes!" Steve interrupts. 

"Alright, just please don't break anything. Okay?" Dustin hurries to add. 

"Sure sure, I'll be over soon then okay?" He says happily. He hangs up after they've said their goodbyes and starts grabbing his stuff together. "I'm going out Mom okay?" He calls out, as he grabs his car keys out of the bowl. He hears a muffled reply and pulls the door shut behind him. 

It doesn't take long for him to get to Dustin's. He pulls up on the drive and rings the doorbell. Dustin's mother appears and looks him up and down. "Can I help you?" She asks sounding confused to his presence. 

Steve blinks at her in confusion. "Err, I rang? I'm here to see Dustin?" He says, starting to doubt himself. 

She looks at him in disbelief, but thankfully Dustin pops his head around the corner. "Ah Steve, I thought I heard the doorbell. Come on! Let me show you my project." He says excitedly. At this confirmation, his mom warily opens the door to him and he follows Dustin into the house. 

"Your mother doesn't believe I'm your friend." Steve whispers as soon as they are out of hearing distance. Dustin snorts out a laugh at that. He starts showing Steve his science project, most of it going over Steve's head but it looks pretty cool. 

After explaining all the basics Dustin settles back in to work on it, while Steve makes himself comfy on the sofa. "So not that I don't like you being here, but why are you here?" Dustin asks, glancing up at Steve. 

Steve shuffles about on the sofa trying to get comfy. "Bored." He says and Dustin gives him a look that says he knows there is more. He sighs. "I'm avoiding my parents." He explains. Dustin raises an eyebrow questioningly at that explanation. "Look they're leaving again in a couple of days it'll be fine." He says defensivley. Murmuring an agreement Dustin grimaces at him sympathetically and then goes back to his science project. His mother comes in a few minutes later with some cans of coke and a plate of biscuits. "Thanks." Steve murmurs, quickly helping himself to the goodies. They bat each others hands away as they both compete for the last chocolate biscuit. Once they're all gone, they fall into easy chatter while Dustin works and Steve sips at his coke. 

A while later, Dustin perks up like a meerkat at the sound of the doorbell. He scrambles to his feet and hurries to the front door. Steve follows him more sedately, contemplating whether he ever had that much enthusiasm when he was that age. He gets to the door as Dustin has thrown his arms around Will, while Dustin and Will's Moms chat in the hall. Will looks up and sees Steve, who lights up and wraps him in a hug as well. "Steve! Hey! I didn't realise you were here as well?" Will exclaims, releasing him from the hug. Steve fills with relief, that at least for now things are okay between them. 

Smiling, Steve rolls his eyes. "Not you as well! Dustin here acted like I never hang out with him." He jokes, laughing at the spluttering outrage coming from Dustin. 

To Steve's horror, Will smirks, a sure sign that he is going to regret teasing them. "Well maybe this week… but before you were spending most of your time with Jonathan." He says and Steve goes bright red. 

They share eye contact and Steve wills him to shut up, last night's events still feeling too much like a punch in the gut to even consider talking about Jonathan to him. Dustin scoffs, interrupting that moment. "Yea do tell us what you two got up to?" Dustin says sarcastically, making Steve's eyes widen in horror and Will is trying to hold his laughter inside. Steve whacks Will's arm to get him to shut up and glares at Dustin. "Nothing, we were just hanging out." He says unconvincingly. Dustin rolls his eyes at that excuse and walks back into his room, with Will chuckling along behind him. Steve groans at their persistence. 

Joyce has finished chatting to Dustin's mom and walks over to Steve. "Hey Steve. How are you doing?" She asks. 

He quickly rearranges his expression into a smile. "Oh you know, alright thanks." He tells her. 

She smiles back at him. "Lovely. You know you will have to come over one of the days, I promised you dinner!" She tells him and his stomach drops. The smile must also drop from his face, as she looks at him worriedly. "What is it hun?" She asks, putting an arm around his shoulder and squeezing reassuringly. 

Panicking, he clenches his fists together and tries to calm his racing heart. "Me and Jonathan aren't on the best of terms right now… I don't think it would be a good idea." He says, pulling himself together enough to hopefully bluff his way through this conversation. 

Unfortunately for Steve, Joyce is not the type to leave anything unsaid. She watches him carefully, raising an eyebrow at him. "What happened dear?" She asks sympathetically. 

Biting his lip nervously, Steve shuffles about on the spot. "It's complicated." He says evasively.

Joyce gives him a stern look. "Well Jonathan is working till late and Will's here, so will you come home and keep me company?" She asks with all her motherly insistance. Which makes it very hard for him to say no to her. "That's settled then, come on, the boys won't even notice we've gone." She says with a smile, not taking no for an answer. Steve smiles at her, rolling his eyes at her, but nods anyway. They make their way down the drive and separate into their own cars to make their way back to the Byer's residence. 

During the drive, Steve's stomach feels like it's tying itself up in knots, in a million different ways. His thoughts clash, trying to find a way of wording it that he could actually say to her. They pull up on the drive and with the engine switched off, Steve relishes the moment of peace. Taking a deep breath he open the car door and makes his way into the house. 

The house feels homely, even with the remnants of their past adventures permanently etched into the building. Joyce has put the radio on and he can hear her humming along to it, while she bustles about in the kitchen. "Cocoa alright Steve?" She asks, popping her head out of the kitchen. He nods and she smiles at him, gesturing for him to make himself at home in the living room. He perches on the end of the sofa, anxiously picking at the seam of his t-shirt. A few minutes later she appears again with two steaming mugs of cocoa. They sit together for a while, hands wrapped tightly around the warm mugs. "So, do you want to tell me what's got you all worried?" She asks him softly. 

The silence after her question is heavy and he's gratefully she doesn't try and rush him. "Jonathan found something out about me… and now he hates me." He says cautiously, picking his words carefully. 

Steve stares down at his mug, not meeting her eyes, but feels her place a comforting hand on his knee. "Oh hun, I'm sure he doesn't hate you." She tells him and he feels a foolish sliver of hope bloom in his chest. He shakes his head sadly, shaking away thoughts of that kind. "What did he find out?" She asks carefully, trying not to pressure him too much. 

Closing his eyes, he sniffs. Swallowing, he takes a deep breath. "I… kissed someone." He breaths out. 

Briefly glancing at Joyce's face, he sees surprise fill her expression. "Okay. That doesn't sound like something he would hate you over." She says sounding confused. "I guess, if it was Nancy, I could understand him being upset, but he'll get over it dear." She adds, squeezing his knee reassuringly. 

Sighing, Steve contemplates his next words carefully. He places the mug down on the side, needing to be able to move quickly if necessary. "It wasn't Nancy." He murmurs. Joyce is quiet, giving him the space he needs. "It… was a guy." He says quietly, body tensing up preparing for a fight or flight response. 

The blood pumping through his ears sounds deafening and the seconds seem to drag on for an eternity. "Steve." She says softly, making him flinch. "I have fought through another dimension to save one son… if you think something as insignificant as which gender you want to kiss will make me lose another you are surely mistaken." She says passionately, reaching out to hold his hands tightly in hers. 

He scrunches his eyes tightly shut, not believing that this is actually real. "I'm not your son." He says quietly, trying to hold the tears that are threatening to fall. 

Scoffing, she gently reaches her hand up to his cheek so that he is facing her. Waiting until he finally opens his eyes and looks at her. "All you kids are my family whether you like it or not." She says firmly. Steve can't hold it together anymore and sinks into her arms and is wrapped up in a tight, warm hug as the tears escape. She holds him close until he regains his composure and his breathing returns to something close to normal. "Have you actually explained all this to Jonathan?" She asks softly. 

Scrunching up his face, Steve shrugs. "Kind of, he said he didn't want to keep my secret." He tells her. 

She gasps in surprise. "He said that?" She exclaims in horror. Steve nods. "Well if I find out he has told a soul about it he has got me to answer to!" She says angrily. He chuckles slightly, because she is the fiercest person he knows. She takes his hand and sits in thought for a minute. "I really don't want to believe that about my boy… so I hope this is all a misunderstanding, that if you calmly sit down and talk you can resolve it." She says hopefully. 

Steve smiles at her in agreement, not feeling as confident in that resolution though. "Let's hope so. My dad will not be as accepting as you if he finds out." He says sadly. 

The expression on Joyce's face fits between heartbroken and furious. "But you're his son!" She says sounding stunned, anger laced in her voice. 

Scoffing, Steve shakes his head. "Doesn't matter, he's made that fact very clear." He tells her, knowing that there isn't a chance in hell that he would ever be as loving as Joyce has been.

Still holding his hand, the two of them sit together quietly. "What are you going to do?" She asks softly. 

Sinking his head back against the sofa back, he sighs. "Me and Robin are gonna get a flat together." He says, a soft smile spreading across his face at all the shenanigans they are going to be able to get up to when they live together. 

"That'll be lovely!" Joyce says enthusiastically. A wide grin on her face. She drops his hand and wrap her hands around her cocoa again. Taking a sip, she curls her legs up onto the sofa. "Shall we see what's on the television?" She asks him, already reaching over to grab the remote and turn the radio off. 

Surprised, Steve just blinks at her. "Oh, I don't want to keep you?" He says uncertainly, standing up off the sofa. She just rolls her eyes at him with a huff. She pats the seat next to her and then goes back to flicking through the channels. Hovering indecisively, his eyes flick from the door to the TV. Giving in, he settles back down again, picking his cocoa back up off the side table. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I made myself emotional writing this chapter so I have y'all appreciate it x


	15. Kiss the boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all the people who've been commenting! You make my day and give me the motivation to keep writing! Hence why this giant of a chapter is ready. Hope you enjoy x

Upbeat pop music blasts from the radio, as Steve taps the steering wheel to the beat. He watches the throngs of kids running out of the school and waits for the familiar gang of troublemakers to appear. Before he knows it, hands slam against the windows, making him leap up and twist towards the noise. Only to see Dustin's grinning face pressed against the window. Letting out a long breath of relief, he glares at him, while unwinding the window. "Bloody shithead." He swears at him, only to be met with laughter in response. The rest of the gang appears from around the back of the car to join him, all grinning equally widely. Steve's eyes narrow at them. "Which one of you put him up to that?" He asks, but they all have overly innocent expressions on their faces.

Squeezing through the wall of bodies stood in front of him, Will appears next to the window. "Hey Steve." He says brightly. 

Smiling back in response, Steve gestures to the passenger's seat. "Get in, let's leave these shitheads behind." He jokes. The kids all cry out in outrage, voices blurring together in their arguments. Will grins and makes his way around the car into the passenger seat. 

Leaning his head through the open window, Dustin complains, now too close to ignore. "Come on man, it's not fair! Give us a lift too!" He says loudly, right into Steve's ear. 

Pushing Dustin back out of his car window, Steve rolls his eyes. "No. I don't have space for everyone." He tells them. Dustin makes a rude noise at that. "Nope, sorry. Bye shitheads." Steve says with a grin, rolling his window back up. He pulls out of the parking space and laughs at Will pulling faces at the others through the window. He sees the kids all hurry to leap onto their bikes and chase after his car. They all make rude gestures at the car as they speed past him, out of the parking lot. 

Once all the kids are out of sight, Steve glances at Will out of the corner of his eye. "So how was school?" He asks. Will just grunts and shrugs in response. "Wow, what a thrilling day." Steve teases. 

Will rolls his eyes and crosses his arms. "You sound like my mom." He says and Steve nearly misses the teasing tone in his voice. 

Spluttering out a laugh, Steve rejects that idea. "I am not! ...I'm …oh shit, I'm meant to be cool!" He whined, making Will laugh. "Anyway, we're getting waffles now." Steve says, sounding sulky and pouting. 

Raising an eyebrow, Will stares at Steve in bemusement. "Why?" He asks. 

"Why not?" Steve retorts childishly. 

"Because we do have food at home?" Will tells him.

Snorting, Steve shakes his head. "Really? Now you sound like your mom." He jokes. 

That pulls Will up short. "Damn your right, we need waffles!" He says clapping his hands on his thighs demandingly. Steve cheers and signals in the diner car park. 

Skipping like little kids, they barrel into the diner and Steve gestures for Will to claim a table while he orders for them. He goes up to the counter. Leaning against the edge, he gives the girl working a bright smile. "Afternoon gorgeous." He tells her with a wink. 

She doesn't look up immediately, but when she does, she looks him up and down and then smiles. "What can I get you love?" She asks with a smirk.

Glancing up at the menu, he ponders the options. "Two waffles and the pretty girl's name." He says flirtily. 

She writes down his order. "No problem. I'm Lisa. And you are?" She asks, twirling her hair around her fingers. 

"Name's Steve." He says, giving her a wink. She rings up the cost as they flirt back and forth. 

As he walks away from the counter, he catches sight of something on the back of the receipt. Turning it over, he reads her number and then folds it over and pushes it out of sight into his pocket. 

Sliding into the booth that Will had claimed in the corner, he takes in Will's confused expression. "Why so glum? Did she not give you her number?" Will asks. 

Steve's hand clenches around the receipt in his pocket and he puts a disappointed but accepting look onto his face. "Nah, just being friendly for tips." He lies. 

Disbelievingly, Will flicks his eyes from Steve to the counter and back again. "Really?... She looked into you?" He says cautiously. 

Putting a confident smile on, Steve leans onto the table and leans over slightly. "And you, have a lot to learn about that sort of stuff." Steve teases. Will groans and collapses onto his arms on the table. Patting his head reassuringly, Steve looks up at the waitress bringing their food over. "Thanks a lot." He says sincerely, giving her a wide smile. She blushes and hurries back to the other customers. 

Finally lifting his head back up and picking into his waffles, Will leans his head on his elbow. "Have you told anyone?" He asks softly. 

Steve stares at him questioningly for a minute in silence. "What? ...about you? No of course not" He asks in confusion, after glancing around them to see if anyone was nearby. 

Rolling his eyes at him, Will shakes his head. "No, I meant about you." He says with a chuckle. 

"Me?" Steve exclaims. Narrowing his eyes in confusion, Will tilts his head and waits for Steve to respond. "I… you shouldn't know that?" He says cautiously. Grinning at the confirmation Will takes a big bite of waffle. Steve sighs, leaning back against the booth seat. "You're too observant for your own good." He says jokingly. 

Between mouthfuls of waffle, most of which gets spat out onto the counter, Will asks him again. "So, have you told anyone?" He says. 

Reluctantly, Steve takes a mouthful of waffle to give him time to think. "Firstly, you shouldn't eat with your mouthful." He says, while spitting crumbs out himself. Will just gives him an unimpressed look. "Alright, alright," Steve says, "yes one or two people know, why?".

At this Will goes quiet and starts pushing his food around on his plate. Giving him the space to think, Steve just goes back to his own food, but keeps part of his attention on Will. "I'm thinking about telling Mom and Jonathan." He says so softly that Steve barely catches it. 

Swallowing his food, Steve grins at him. "Wow, good for you. Your Mom's gonna be so proud of you for telling her." He says supportively.

Will looks up at him, face flushed with embarrassment. "...and Jonathan?" He asks, giving him a searching look.

Pausing to think, and quell the panic in the back of his head, he takes a calming breath. "...your brother loves you. And if he ever says anything to you then he'll regret it." Steve says protectively. Will gives him a look that says that wasn't what he was expecting him to say. "Any idea when you'll tell them?" He asks casually. 

Brushing off Steve's weirdness, he shrugs. "Maybe tomorrow? It's family night, so we're all in ...I may chicken out though." Will tells him.

Scoffing, Steve shakes his head in amusement. "Nah you're braver than you think." He says fondly. Will flushes slightly in embarrassment and stares down at his plate. Steve rolls his eyes and contemplates how Jonathan may react to Will's news. He distractedly allows Will to change the subject and half heartedly chats along with him, while his brain makes plans in the background. 

As they get ready to head off, the girl behind the counter gives Steve a little wave and winks at him. Luckily Will doesn't notice and they're out of the diner and on their way home. Before he knows it, he's parked outside the Byer's house. Glancing at the drive he sees that Joyce's car is there, but Jonathan's isn't. Noticing his distraction, Will grins at him. "Jonathan should be home any minute if you wanted to talk to him?" He says with a slight smirk. 

Flushing red and startling, Steve spins round to look at him. Narrowing his eyes, he chuckles. "Mind your own business and get out of my car." He jokes. Will rolls his eyes at him but gets out of the car anyway, waving cheerily at him as he goes inside the house. 

Now on his own, Steve takes a deep breath and leans his head back against the headrest. Staring into space, he contemplates his options. Jonathan may have reacted badly to him, but he loves Will. With a groan of frustration he knows he can't leave without knowing for sure, so he switches the engine off and waits. 

It feels like an eternity before he sees headlights in the mirror. Everything he's been planning on saying goes out of his head in that moment of panic. As the car pulls up next to his, he swallows his fear and gets out. "Look I don't want to hear it, just go." Jonathan tells him, slamming his door shut and walking off to the house. 

Taking a few steps forward, Steve reaches out and gently grabs Jonathan's arm. "No. We need to talk about it, ...please?" He says. Jonathan freezes and Steve's worried he's going to get punched again, but then he turns around in resignation. Filled with relief, Steve gestures to his car. Jonathan gives him a wary look. "Look it's cold out here, that's all." Steve reassures him, only getting in when Jonathan starts walking around to the passenger side. 

They sit in an awkward silence for a minute while Steve gets the car heater going. "Go on then. Get it over with." Jonathan says, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Rubbing his hands over his legs nervously, he tries to compose his thoughts. "I'm sorry." He stutters out. Jonathan's expression goes from annoyed to surprised. Steve looks away, staring down at his hands. "I know I had shitty timing and I should have said something rather than just assuming, that's on me. I'm not asking for you to like me, but… if you're going to hate me for being bisexual then you can say it to my face." Steve continues, finally looking Jonathan in the eyes. 

The awkward silence returns as Jonathan processes what he said, then opens and closes his mouth, not forming any words. "You're bisexual?..." He asks in confusion. 

Steve laughs nervously. "That's what you got from that?" He asks in astonishment. "I thought me trying to kiss you was a bit of a giveaway." He says awkwardly. 

Flushing red in embarrassment, Jonathan's eyes widen. "But… you said it was a joke?" He says cautiously. 

The silence is heavy as Steve goes over everything Jonathan had said to him. "You said it was wrong. I was scared that if you told anyone my parents would find out." He says, not meeting his eyes anymore. 

A hand grips his own, making him look up at Jonathan in confusion. "Fuck, I'm sorry." Jonathan says sincerely. "That wasn't how I… that's not what I had a problem with." He says quietly. 

Smiling down at their joined hands, Steve looks at him, hope starting to bloom again. "You were okay with a guy kissing you then?" He says, smirk creeping into his face. Rolling his eyes at Steve and his bad flirting, Jonathan shyly nods his head. "Why were you mad then?" He asks quietly, smile dropping slightly. 

Sighing, Jonathan pulls his hand back out of Steve's grasp. "Because of your girlfriend you prick." He says angrily. Steve just looks at him in shock, grunting something out in confusion. "I know you and Nancy were a bit ambiguous when we got together and I'm really sorry about that, but… you and Robin are serious, I know you're planning on moving in together." He continues. 

There's a moment of quiet and then Steve burst out laughing. Jonathan glares at him in annoyance, but it doesn't make any difference to him. When he finally calms down enough to talk, he grabs Jonathan's hand back into his. "Me and Robin aren't together." He tells him. Jonathan still looks wary but is at least slightly conflicted, so he doesn't immediately pull his hand back. "I swear. She's seeing someone else, you can ask her. She'll be disgusted at the idea." He says with a laugh. 

"God I really hope you're not lying right now." He says, as he reaches over grabbing Steve's face. He kisses him, shutting up any argument he was going to make in his defence. Nervously pulling back, Steve doesn't let him get far, pulling him back into another kiss. 

They break apart, resting their foreheads together and just breathing each other in. "So are we cool now then?" Steve jokes. 

He rolls his eyes and laughs fondly at him. "Hmm." He murmurs, jokingly contemplating Steve. "I think we can figure something out." He says with a soft smile. 

Raising an eyebrow, Steve smirks. "Oh do you now." He says, pulling Jonathan into another soft kiss. 

As they break apart, Jonathan sighs. "I should probably go in, they'll be wondering where I am." He says reluctantly. Steve pouts at him. "Are you doing anything tomorrow?" Jonathan asks nervously. 

Steve pouts again. "I'm working." He says. When Jonathan's smile drops and he turns away, Steve pulls him back towards him. "I'm free Sunday though?" He says softly, leaning in for a quick peck on the lips. 

"Okay." Jonathan says, smiling softly. 

He gets a wide grin in response. "My parents are going back to the city tomorrow, so come over whenever?" Steve tells him. Jonathan nods shyly. Steve reluctantly let's go of his hand. "See you Sunday then." He says softly. Giving him one last kiss, he gets out of the car and heads towards the house. With one last look over his shoulder, he's inside and out of sight. 

Letting out a long breath, Steve sinks back against the seat. His thumb brushes along his lips in disbelief, not quite believing everything that happened. He doesn't stop smiling the whole drive back home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAHHH! I can't believe we're at this point now! I can write all the sappy, romantic shit I've been holding in now! X


	16. Make out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update! Hallelujah! Thank you all for sticking with me, I know my update schedule is sporadic at best x

Sprawled out on the sofa, Steve aimlessly flicks through the available channels on the TV. He startles back to reality when the doorbell rings. He yawns, stretches and stumbles towards the door, trying to smooth his hair down into something slightly more respectable than his current bed head. Opening the door, he blearily stares at the person standing on his doorstep. "Are you going to invite me in?" Jonathan asks with a nervous smile, making Steve realise he's been staring at him without saying anything for far too long. He nods, quickly moving out of the way to let him inside. He kicks the door shut behind them. Before he can come up with anything to say, hands are on his chest and he feels his back bang against the door. Lips are on his, silencing any complaints he might have voiced. He sinks into the kiss, holding Jonathan tight against him with one hand at the small of his back and one tentatively threading through his hair. He can feel Jonathan's surge of confidence start to dwindle as he pulls back slightly. Steve doesn't let him get far though, as he's still wrapped in his arms. Opening his eyes, he sees the nerves back in Jonathan's eyes, as well as feeling his heart racing in his chest. He softly presses their lips together again. Rubbing soothing circles in his hair, he pulls him back into a gentle kiss. 

"Christ!" Robin exclaims, appearing out of the living room door, rubbing her wet hair dry with a towel. Jonathan startles away from Steve like he'd been electrocuted. "I was upstairs for ten minutes dude!" She says in disbelief, dropping her hair towel on the floor. 

Steve sighs, letting his head fall back against the door with a thump. "You seriously have the worst timing." He says. 

Unsurprisingly he gets a glare from Robin in response. "I have bad timing‽ I was leaving in like ten minutes. You couldn't have waited?" She exclaims, throwing her arms in the air in exasperation. 

Steve just gives her an unimpressed look. "Uh man, you've really killed the mood." He whined, stepping away from the wall and straightening his hair and clothes in the hall mirror. 

Robin huphs and walks back into the living room. "Good! I don't want you getting in the mood while I'm here!" She jokingly calls back over her shoulder. 

Rolling his eyes at her back, Steve glances over at Jonathan. Who has backed up against the nearest wall, arms wrapped tightly around his chest, a mixture of fear and confusion in his eyes. "Hey… sorry… I thought she'd be gone by the time you got here." He says, feeling his cheeks flush with heat. 

Awkwardly shuffling under Jonathan's intense stare, Steve bites his lip. "What have you told her?" Jonathan finally says quietly. His fingers clutching his jumper nervously. 

Nervously, Steve licks his lips, avoiding his eyes for a minute, while he thinks of what to say. "She… knows I like you? She was the one that helped me realise I was into guys in the first place, but I haven't told her about Friday night… I didn't know if you'd be okay with her knowing about you or not." He stutters out after a pause. 

When he looks up at Jonathan again, he sees a slight smile on his lips and a calmer expression on his face. "And you trust her?" He asks. 

"With my life." Steve answers without any hesitation. Jonathan smiles and takes Steve's hand nervously. They stand there smiling stupidly at each other for a few minutes, until Steve nods towards the living room in question. Jonathan nods and follows him out, only gripping onto his hand a little bit tighter. 

They walk into the living room to see Robin sitting cross legged on the arm chair, a wide grin on her face. "I'm really happy you two sorted things out!" She says enthusiastically. Jonathan smiles and nods in thanks, as he gets pulled down onto the sofa next to Steve. He is so focused on how close they are sitting and how warm he is to be pressed up against, that he almost misses Robins next remark. "And see, not homophobic!" She says. 

"Huh?" Jonathan grunts in confusion. Steve's head falls back against the sofa with a groan. 

Then Robin smirks, an evil glint in her eye. "Although… I'd suggest not testing if everyone is homophobic by sucking face with them." She says with a laugh. Steve goes bright red and grabs a pillow from behind him to throw at her. She squeals when it hits her, but it only makes her laugh more.

Jonathan smiles but it doesn't meet his eyes, his brain too busy contemplating what they'd said. "I'm sorry." Jonathan blurts out. Steve spins to face him in surprise, giving Robin the moment of distraction she needs to throw the pillow back at his head. After glaring at Robin and making a rude gesture in her direction, Steve looks back at Jonathan in confusion. Swallowing uncomfortably he tries to piece the words together. "I'm sorry for what I said. I knew I didn't mean it like that… but you didn't. I should have thought about how it sounded." He says nervously. Steve places his other hand on top of their joined hands, making him realise he'd been holding Steve's hand in a vice like grip. Loosening his grip on him, he looks up at Steve to see a soft smile on his lips. 

Shrugging, Steve rubs circles on his hand. "I think we've both made enough mistakes to stop keeping score." He says, Jonathan laughs and can't resist pulling him into a kiss. 

Breaking apart when Robin clears her throat at them, they look up at her sheepishly. "So why did you say what you did? Because if what dingus here said is true, then it's pretty bad." Robin says, sounding quite intimidating for her size. 

Flushing in embarrassment, Jonathan looks down at the floor while Steve sniggers next to him. He wacks Steve's arm to get him to shut up. "I erm… thought he was dating you." He tells her awkwardly. She's silent for a moment and then bursts out laughing. She pretends to gag at the thought, making Steve loudly protest how much of a catch he was. 

After she pays no mind to his protests, he decides to get up and wrestle her, trying to tickle her into giving in and admitting how handsome he is. Jonathan just watches them in amusement, until eventually they collapse onto the floor panting. No clear winner seems to have arisen, so Jonathan just laughs at them and stretches his legs out across the sofa, starting to allow himself to actually relax in their company. Robin scrambles up and collapses back onto her armchair, while Steve just remains lying there on the floor watching Jonathan. He lifts his arms up and pouts at him, in the hope of him pulling him up. Jonathan just rolls his eyes and shakes his head with a laugh. With a grumpy look he gets up and bats Jonathan's legs to get him to move. He just smirks at him and plants his feet more solidly. Steve eyes him and smirks back. Instead of trying to shift him, he simply climbs onto his lap, leaning down until his face is hovering over Jonathan's. They breathe each other in, until Jonathan gives in and lifts his head up to kiss him. They kiss, starting to find their own rhythm with each other. 

Robin clears her throat loudly at them. "Gross. If you're only going to make out I'm leaving." She jokes. 

Sitting up, Steve smirks over his shoulder at her. "Close the door on the way out will you?" He says, winking obnoxiously at her. Robin fakes a gag and gets up, rummaging around the room for her stuff. Jonathan glares up at him. Rolling his eyes in response, he chuckles. "She was leaving anyway it's fine." He tells him, relaxing the glare he was getting from Jonathan. Then leaning in close to Jonathan's ear, with a grin he whispers "She has a date." His eyes widen and gives him a curious look. 

Before he can respond, Robin is leaning over the sofa at them. "Well as I'm not wanted, I'll leave. Have fun without me." She jokes. 

Steve blows her a kiss, but Jonathan calls after her. "Do you actually have a date?" He asks curiously, and then flushes with embarrassment when she looks back at him and raises her eyebrow. "Sorry it's none of my business." He stutters out. 

Robin laughs at his awkwardness. "Yeah I do, why?" She asks. 

He can feel Steve's eyes on him and he doesn't look up, not sure if Steve is pissed that he's asking or just amused at his embarrassment. "Steve mentioned you did… but I wasn't sure if it was a joke." He says awkwardly. 

Grinning, she shakes her head. "So you don't have to be jealous of her anymore." Steve says with a smirk. Jonathan scoffs but still looks away shyly. 

Hiding his face behind the back of the sofa, Jonathan hears Robin laughing her head off. "Yea you can stop worrying that he's going to run off with the lesbian now." She teases with a smirk. She chucks her bag over her shoulder and walks towards the door, waving over her shoulder. 

Eyes widening in shock, he gasps and Steve chuckles. "Call me later! Love ya." He says blowing her a kiss as she walks out. 

Putting her middle finger up at him over her shoulder. "Nosy!" She calls back at him. "Love you too dingus." She says after a pause and then slams the door closed behind her. Her absence leaves a quiet in the house. 

In the silence they are both avoiding looking at each other for a minute, then as if in sync they glance at each other and cannot hold their serious expressions. They both burst into laughter, falling forward against each other. "I'm an idiot." Jonathan murmurs hiding his face behind his hands and holding back chuckles. Steve just continues laughing and wraps his arms around his back, pulling him loosely against his chest. 

Once they've both calmed down, they lay back down on the sofa. Steve is lying on Jonathan's chest and after a few moments, Jonathan has to repeatedly poke him to get him to shift his weight off him. When he can breath properly again he gives Steve a glare, which he promptly ignores and kisses his nose. "So," he says with a smile, "You seem a bit more sure of this than on Friday." He says, poking Jonathan's cheek. 

Rolling his eyes, he bats Steve's hand away half heartedly. "Maybe." Jonathan says evasively. Steve raises his eyebrows in curiosity and pokes him again. Rolling his eyes again, Jonathan turns away. Not taking that for an answer, Steve wrestles him around and they almost fall off the sofa in the kerfuffle. "Alright alright." Jonathan surrenders with a laugh. Giving him an intent look, Steve grins in victory. "I guess, Will told me you'd offered to beat me up for him, so I knew you were serious." Jonathan tells him, smirking at him. 

Gasping in surprise, Steve laughs. "Wow who knew threatening to beat you up was the way to woo you." He chuckles, leaning down to give him a kiss, although with them both laughing so hard it's not the most coordinated of kisses but neither of them really cares. 

After they break apart, they stay close together. "I knew I could beat you anyway." Jonathan says slyly. 

Scoffing, Steve puffs out his chest. "Oh you could, could you?" He challenges. Jonathan grins cockily at him. Shifting his weight onto him, Steve presses down on Jonathan's chest. "Are you sure?" He says, smirking down at him. 

Pushing at his chest, Steve falls back against the sofa with a laugh. "Cut the posturing and admit you're a softy at heart." Jonathan tells him, shaking his head at the act he puts on. 

Mock horror crosses Steve's face at the suggestion. "How dare you suggest such a thing!" He jokes, as he wraps his arms tightly around Jonathan and latches onto him like a koala. He lets out a squeal of surprise and laughter. "Want to watch a movie?" Steve murmurs into the back of Jonathan's neck, his lips softly brushing against his skin. Shivering slightly at the feeling, he nods softly as they settle down into the sofa, wrapped up in each other arms. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any positive comments would be greatly appreciated x


	17. I Wish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of got stuck on this chapter so I decided to write the next one first... So sorry this one took so long? But at least chapter 18 is written so I will post that in a few days :)
> 
> TW: very brief mention of previous child abuse & homophobic attitudes.

Sitting on the stairs in the hall, Steve's leg is twitching anxiously as he waits for the doorbell to ring. He runs his hand through his hair and checks the time again. 

Finally the doorbell rings and he leaps up and opens the door wide. Jonathan gives him a look of confusion at the speed he answered the door, which Steve promptly ignores. "Come in." He says gesturing into the house. 

Giving him an unimpressed look in response, Jonathan sighs and walks into the house. "Seriously? If we're late because you need to style your hair or some shit I'll…" he complains as Steve shuts the door behind him. Once the door is shut behind them, Steve puts his hands on Jonathan's face and kisses him, cutting off his complaining. 

Breaking apart, Jonathan meets his eyes looking slightly dazed. "There, now we can go if you want." Steve says with a grin. Blinking at him in surprise, there's a pause, before Jonathan laughs and pulls him back into another kiss. They make out in the hallway, savouring the closeness. Steve feels tentative hands on his waist, but has to pull back when cold fingers brush up under his shirt. 

Jonathan jumps back slightly when he feels Steve pull away. "Sorry! I shouldn't have…" he apologizes. 

Reaching out to grab his hand, Steve rolls his eyes. "Stop worrying, it's just we really will be late if you start anything like that." He says with a wink. 

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Jonathan smiles nervously. "Right, yea, we should probably go?" He says distractedly. Steve nods and grabs his keys, locking the door behind him. 

They stroll down the drive, but being out in public again ramps up his anxieties, so he can feel himself putting more space between them. Jonathan gives him an odd look and takes a step sideways so that they are walking next to each other again, making their hands brush as their arms swing. Steve shoves his hands into his hoodie pockets to resist the urge to grab onto his hand and not let go. He speed walks the final stretch and lets out a breath as he gets to the passenger's side of the car. Jonathan unlocks the car, watching him closely. They get in and when Jonathan makes no move to start the engine, Steve reluctantly looks up at him. "What? Scared people are going to start calling you a queer if you stand too close to me?" Jonathan accuses, the question holding more bite than he intended. Steve rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest and staring back out of the window. Jonathan sighs. "Steve… you said you liked me, I'm not going to be someone you can hook up with when it suits you." He says, running his hands along his thighs anxiously. 

Turning to him angrily, Steve snaps. "You think I don't want to be able to publically date you?! God, I want to do all those things. I want to hold your hand when we're out, take you on dates, buy you flowers, fucking kiss you without it having to be behind closed doors, but I can't! My mother only had to mention a fucking rumour that you might be queer and my father hit me for associating with you. I would rather not test how he would react to this, because it would not be pleasant for either of us." He says, breathing heavily in anger. 

Blinking at him in shock, Jonathan goes to reach out for him, but pulls back before he touches him. "You want to buy me flowers?" He asks quietly. Staring resolutely out of the window, Steve mumbles something, too quietly for Jonathan to understand. "What?" He asks, grinning at the blush on Steve's cheeks. 

"It may have crossed my mind, yea." Steve answers reluctantly, staring out of the window even though they haven't moved out of the driveway yet. Jonathan's grin widens at his admission. "Oh shut up, you dick." Steve says. 

Laughter bursts out of Jonathan. "I didn't say anything!" He exclaims. Rolling his eyes, Steve crosses his arms across his chest. Jonathan pouts. "Does this mean you won't buy me flowers now?" He says, trying to keep a straight face and mostly failing. 

Shaking his head in amusement, Steve pulls a face at Jonathan and puts his middle finger up at him. "Just drive the car will you!" He exclaims, unsubtly trying to change the topic of conversation. 

Laughing, Jonathan does finally start the car. Although, he makes sure to obnoxiously wink at him, before driving off the drive. In response, Steve sticks his tongue out at him. "I think you're spending too much time with the kids." Jonathan teases. 

"Have not." Steve replies childishly. 

Rolling his eyes, Jonathan chuckles. "Right I forgot, you're a child just like them." He jokes.

Gasping in mock horror, Steve turns in his seat to be facing Jonathan in the driver's seat. "I am not!" He exclaims. "I'm older than you anyway." He says smugly. Jonathan just scoffs at his argument. Narrowing his eyes, Steve smirks. "So if I'm a child, what does that make you? ...a baby?" He teases. 

"Dick." Jonathan states without looking away from the road. 

"Baby." Steve replies, leading to them playfully bickering all the way into town. 

They pull into the diner car park and head inside, quickly spotting Robin and Lucy sitting in one of the booths at the back. "Hey dingus." Robin calls out in greeting. She leaps up out of the booth and pulls him into a hug. "Nice to see you Jonathan." She adds when they pull apart, "You remember Lucy right?" She adds, gesturing at her with a slight smirk. 

Blushing he looks away and sits down in the booth. "Yea, hey Lucy." He says awkwardly, as Robin snickers at his embarrassment. 

Grinning at Lucy and Robin, Steve turns to Jonathan. "I'll go and order for us, okay baby?" He says with a smirk. He winks at them and then spins around to go and order from the counter. 

Sharing a look of amazement, Robin and Lucy raise their eyebrows and giggle. "Don't start." Jonathan says sulkily, sinking his face onto his arms on the table to hide his red face. 

Elbowing Robin before she can say anything else, Lucy turns to Jonathan and smiles. "Pet names aren't anything to be embarrassed about, I think it's cute." She tells him. She has to elbow Robin again when she giggles again. "What? Not a fan sweetheart?" She says sweetly. Robin's eyes widen and she blushes bright red at the endearment. 

Watching the two of them with a mild look of panic in his eyes, Jonathan shakes his head. "That's not what it is… he's being insulting…" He argues, confidence dwindling as they stare at him doubtfully. 

Reaching across the table to pat his hand, Lucy grins. "Sure, if you say so." She says, not sounding very convinced of that fact. 

Strutting over, with a bright grin on his face, Steve slides back into the booth next to Jonathan. "Miss me, baby?" He says in greeting. Jonathan whacks his arm and murmurs something incomprehensible. Ignoring that, Steve just stretches his legs out so that their thighs are pressed together. "So how have you girls been?" He asks with a grin. 

Robin kicks him in the shins under the table. "I saw you yesterday at work dingus!" She says rolling her eyes at him. 

Kicking her back, Steve sticks her tongue out at her. "Don't be rude Rob! I was being polite!" He says with a laugh. 

Before Robin can argue back, the waitress walks over with their food. "Here you go." She says, leaning over the table to put the food down. She winks at Steve, as she puts his food down in front of him. "You need anything else, you just come over and talk to me, okay?" She says sweetly to Steve, pretty much ignoring the others at the table. 

Nodding, Steve smiles at her. "Will do love." He tells her. She smiles back at him, then heads back to the counter. They quickly dig into their food, with Robin only complaining about Steve's bad table manners once. Jonathan mainly let's Steve and Robin carry the conversation, happy to just listen to their banter. That is until Steve gets up to go to the bathroom. Jonathan gives him a panicked look at being left alone with the girls, but Steve just squeezes his shoulder and tries to hide a laugh at his expression. As he walks over to the loos he accidentally catches the waitresses eye as he walks past the counter.

He sees her cleaning the table right outside the loos on his way back. She smiles brightly at him. "Hey handsome. I'm gonna go on my break in a minute if you want to come out and have a smoke with me?" She says sweetly. 

Steve glances over to the table and then turns back to her. "Sorry I should get back to my friends." He says apologetically. 

She pouts. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind. We could get to know each other a bit better." She says suggestively. 

"Sorry, I don't think my date would like that." He says, hoping that she'll back off then. 

She looks at him in surprise, then glances around him to look at the others sat at his table. "Damn, must be one hell of a girl to get Steve Harrington to settle down." She jokes. 

He chuckles awkwardly. "Anyway, I should go." He says, finally getting past her and back to the table. He settles back down in the booth and takes a sip from his milkshake. 

Robin gives him a look. "What are you smirking about?" She demands, kicking him in the shins under the table. 

He grins back at her, looking smug. "The waitress was flirting with me and wanted to 'get to know me better' on her break." He says, wiggling his eyebrows obnoxiously at her.

Gasping in shock, Robin laughs. "She did not!" She exclaims, slamming her hands down on the table. "You have literally no game?!" She says in shock. 

Kicking her back under the table, he glares at her. "I keep telling you, it was the outfit!" He says, serious face dropping as he laughs. 

Jonathan sniggers. "That hat did make you stupid." He teases. Steve gasps at the betrayal. 

Sniggering, Robin holds a hand over her mouth to try and calm her laughter. "If it was the hat, then why have you only got one number at the video store?" She argues, still sniggering. 

Flushing at the memory of that incident, Steve looks down at the table, trying to stop a smile. Jonathan laughs. "Wow, what poor girl gave you her number?" He teases, glancing over at Steve in curiosity. Looking at Robin with wide eyes, the two of them share a look and burst into giggles. "What?" Jonathan asks, looking between the two of them in confusion. 

Surprising all of them, Lucy gasps in understanding. "Was this the one that flirted with you as well Robin?" She asks excitedly. Robin nods enthusiastically and they both giggle. "Steve's intro into bisexuality!" She says sniggering. 

Giving them both an unimpressed look, Steve rolls his eyes. "Nice to know you've been discussing my love life." He says pouting at Robin. 

She kicks him under the table. "Don't moan, I talked to you about Lucy all the time." She says with a smirk. Hearing this, Lucy blushes bright red and hides her head in her hands. 

"Okay unlike everyone else, I haven't heard this story so I'm confused." Jonathan says, looking at all of them blankly. 

Staring in horror at Robin, Steve watches as her grin gets wider and he sees a glint in her eyes. "Steve got very flustered at one of the guys that came in and made a bit of an idiot of himself…" she explains to Jonathan, loving watching Steve get redder and redder. 

"I did not!" Steve interrupts, trying to defend himself. 

Robin scoffs. "You basically just stared at his muscles and somehow you still got his number!" She exclaims, making Steve glance around to make sure none of the other customers were listening in. Seeing the place mostly deserted, with just a couple elderly people at the counter, Steve sighs in defeat. 

Looking over at Jonathan, he sees an odd look on his face. "You okay?" He asks quietly, nudging him with his elbow. He blinks and the odd expression is gone, replaced with a smile as he nods. As he turns back to the girls, he feels a hand brush his thigh. Trying not to react, he puts his hand down on top of Jonathan's. Slowly, with nothing other than a slight smile on his face, Jonathan twists his hand around and threads their fingers together. Steve squeezes his hand reassuringly and tunes back into Robin and Lucy's conversation, trying to ignore his heart beating in his chest. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the lovely commenters wanted to see Jonathan getting jealous of the guy from early in the story. So i know it's not exactly what you wanted, but I hope you like it anyway x


	18. The nights we lived

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is doing okay in this weird time. I hope this helps brighten your day a bit x

Having worked the early shift at the video store, Steve is tired. However, the anticipation for the evening leaves him with a bubbly, nervous energy all afternoon. Once he gets home, he showers and painstakingly styles his hair to perfection. Then, after staring blankly at the contents of his closet for the last five minutes, he sighs. Glancing at the time, he startles and rummages through the clothes with renewed vigor. Eventually settling on a nice shirt and his newest jeans. Taking in his appearance he shakes himself, annoyed at himself for getting this worked up over how he looks. Finally, grabbing his keys and locking up, he walks out into the muggy evening. 

The drive to Jonathan's house isn't a long one, but he still somehow manages to skip through the entire tape in his stereo. Fingers tapping impatiently on the steering wheel. Pulling up outside the house, he switches the engine off and takes a deep, calming breath. Steeling himself, he slowly makes his way up the house and knocks. 

After a few moments, the door is quickly pulled open. "Steve!" Joyce exclaims, pulling him into a tight hug. "Lovely to see you again." She says leading him inside and shutting the door behind her. 

Quick footsteps down the hall, make Steve look up, just in time to prepare himself, as Will crashes into him. "Hey buddy." Steve says with a chuckle. 

Once Steve is released from Will's tight grasp, Joyce gives him a soft smile. Then, turning to Will, she puts her hands on her hips. "Now have you got everything young man?" She asks. Leading to a look of doubt crossing Will's face, before he turns and sprints back into his room. "What about you? Are you and Jonathan going to be alright here on your own?" She asks cautiously. 

Steve nods. "Yea, it was a misunderstanding. We're fine now." He says reassuringly. Joyce puts a hand on his shoulder and squeezes, smiling thankfully at him. Hearing one of the bedroom door click, Steve looks up and sees Jonathan walking over to them. "Hey." Steve says softly, dopey smile on his face. 

"Hey." Jonathan says with a matching grin on his face. 

Rolling her eyes out of sight of Steve and Jonathan, Joyce wanders around the living collecting her car keys and purse. "Right, what's you two's plan for this evening then?" She asks distractedly. 

Jonathan shrugs, a slightly guilty look in his face. "I thought we could stick a movie on?" He says, sounding uncertain, more directing the question at Steve rather than answering his Mom's question. Steve nods, not complaining at the idea of cuddling up to Jonathan on the couch. 

"That'll be nice dears." She says. Having finally found all her bits, Joyce looks up at the time. "Will! We're going to be late!" She calls out. Finally reappearing with a bag of stuff, Will hurries over to the door. "Right so I'll be working till late and Will is staying overnight at Mikes, so can you make yourselves some dinner? Is that alright?" Joyce says. Jonathan nods reassuringly. "Right, okay, we're off then." She says, with one final pay down of her pockets to make sure she's got everything. "Bye, behave yourselves." She calls back to them as her and Will shuffle out the door. 

Once the door clicks shut, they both breathe out a sigh of relief at the quiet. They share a look and then grin. Jonathan crosses the distance between them and presses a soft kiss to his lips. Putting his arms around Jonathan's neck, Steve smiles. "So movie?" He murmurs, breath hot against Jonathan's neck. 

Reluctantly Jonathan pulls back, out of his arms. "We need to cook first." He says with a sigh. 

Pouting, Steve makes sad eyes at Jonathan, until he glares at him to stop. "Why, you think we'll get distracted?" He says with a smirk. 

With a laugh, Jonathan steps closer to Steve. "Maybe." He murmurs, pulling him into a kiss. "It's been a long week." He says softly, when he pulls back for air. 

Murmuring his agreement, Steve threads his fingers through Jonathan's hair. "Damn Keith and his 'illness'" he complains. 

"So inconsiderate." Jonathan teases. He gives him one last kiss then pulls out of reach. "Now just give me two minutes to put some food on." He says with a laugh, as Steve tries to follow him. Rummaging about in the freezer, Jonathan quickly pulls out a ready meal for two and sticks it in the microwave. Steve sits on the counter top waiting impatiently for it to be ready. "Go and put a film on will you?" Jonathan asks as he watches the timer count down. 

Reluctantly slipping off the counter, Steve wraps his arms around Jonathan's waist and presses a quick kiss to the back of his neck. "Sure baby." He says, leaping away before Jonathan can swat him. By the time Steve has found a film and set it up, Jonathan is putting two plates of food down onto the coffee table. "Thanks." Steve says, settling into the couch next to him. 

Once they've eaten, Steve stretches and yawns, resting his arm on the back of the couch. "Seriously?" Jonathan says in amusement. Steve just gives him an overly innocent look. With a shake of his head, Jonathan still sinks closer to Steve. From this close he can smell that purely Steve scent. A mixture of his aftershave, fresh soap and his hairspray. He rests his head properly on Steve's shoulder and breathes him in. When he doesn't react, too busy watching (or pretending to watch) the movie, Jonathan has a surge of bravery. Kissing up his neck, he feels the shudder when he reaches a particularly sensitive spot. 

"Are you trying to distract me?" Steve teases. Jonathan grins, challenging him by pressing another kiss on the sensitive spot of his neck. "Because it's damn well working." He says, twisting around to properly pull Jonathan closer to him. Kissing him until they are both out of breath. They kiss lazily, losing track of time. Although when they realise the menu music has been playing on repeat for a while they reluctantly break apart. "Well, I still have no idea what that film was all about." Steve says with a laugh, untangling himself from Jonathan and the couch to turn the TV off. 

Looking back he finds Jonathan staring at him intently from the couch. He gives him a questioning look in response. Jonathan takes a minute to answer, which turns out to be another question, not an answer. "Are you working tomorrow?" He asks. Steve blinks at him in confusion and then shakes his head. This gets a bright grin from Jonathan. "Great! ...I'll just write Mom a note." He says, trailing off distractedly as he hunts for some paper. 

Following behind him in confusion he reads the note over Jonathan's shoulder. _ 'Steve is crashing in my room as the film ran late.' _ He wraps his arms around Jonathan's waist again. "Am I now?" he whispers in amusement. 

Slowly turning around within Steve's arms, he smirks up at him. "Just shut up for once in your life." He jokes. Steve very happily complies when Jonathan kisses him. They continue to kiss as they slowly maneuver their way towards Jonathan's room. 

When the door shuts behind them there is a moment of hesitation from both of them. "Are you sure?" Steve asks hesitantly. Nodding, Jonathan repeats the question back to him. "Yeah." He says softly, closing the distance between them once more. Jonathan's hands cautiously slide up Steve's shirt, feeling the bumps of his spine and the flexing of his shoulder muscles. Steve groans, reaching for the edge of Jonathan's top to pull it over his head. His hands spread over his chest, taking in as much skin as possible. At this, Jonathan removes his hands from under his shirt to try and fumble with the buttons. Chuckling at the attempt, Steve attempts to help. Jonathan finally managed to push the shirt off of Steve's shoulders and they press back together. Kissing as they stumble back towards the bed. Jonathan tumbles back, as Steve crawls up the bed to follow him. Hands and lips wander as they explore the newly exposed skin. 

As Steve's mouth travels lower down his chest, his fingers flit beneath the waistband of his jeans. "Hey… er… we don't have to…" Jonathan gasps out. 

Pulling his hands away, Steve sits up. "What? You don't want to?" He asks cautiously.

An arm splays over his face and he sighs in frustration. "No I do… it's just… er… fuck…" Jonathan stutters out. 

Seeing the frustration on his face, Steve moves so that he is lying down next to him and slowly reaches out for his hand. "Take your time." He says softly, as he rubs his thumb across the back of his hand. 

They lie together in silence for a bit. "Are you sure you want this?" Jonathan finally asks, staring up at the cracks in his ceiling. 

Turning to face him, Steve looks at him in confusion. "Yeah, fuck, is that what you're worried about?" He asks in surprise. 

Still not looking down from the ceiling, Jonathan sighs. "Look I know it's stupid. But… years ago now, I was kind of seeing this guy… Mostly just making out when no one was around. But when things started to get more serious, he said that it was too gay and he fucked off and spread a bunch of rumours about me." He explains quietly. 

Gripping his hand tightly, Steve takes a deep breath to calm down. "I didn't know that." He says softly. 

Jonathan scoffs. "Yeah most people have forgotten where that rumour came from." He says quietly. 

They're quiet while Steve figures out what to say. "I'm going to be honest with you, if this had happened a couple years ago, I would have probably done the same." He says quietly. 

Rolling his eyes, Jonathan scoffs again. "Yeah I guessed." He says, shaking his head. 

Wincing in sympathy, Steve apologizes. "Sorry… but my point is that in the last few years, we've grown up. I've got friends that actually support me and I'm not pretending to be someone else. So now, I can tell everyone else to fuck off, because I like you." He says firmly. Jonathan turns to face him again, a slight smile growing on his face. Leaning over to him, Steve presses a soft kiss to his lips. Then, kissing across his face he whispers in his ear. "Plus, I've been dreaming about this for ages." He teases, lips brushing against the shell of his ear. 

Laughing breathlessly, Jonathan pulls him back to kiss him senseless. When they break apart to breathe, Jonathan places a hand on his cheek. "Okay." he murmurs softly, before pulling him back in for another kiss. 

Sounding breathless, Steve rests his forehead on Jonathan's, and grins down at him. "Are you sure? We can wait, whatever you want." He breathes out softly. 

Running his hand along Steve's back, Jonathan smirks at him. "I'm sure." He says confidently. Relishing in the shivers coming from Steve at his touch. 

"Okay." Steve says, kissing him passionately as his hands slip lower again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting serious now ;) Hope you liked this chapter! Chapter 19 is also written now, as I have nothing to do right now. So again, that'll be up in a few days x


	19. Sleeping with a friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back again! I can't believe there is only one (1) more chapter to go!?

Awareness creeps back in slowly. Having actually had a peaceful night's sleep, he's not in a hurry to wake. Stretching his shoulders out, Steve sinks back into a peaceful doze. Distracting him from this plan, is the gentle, teasing fingers tracing patterns along his back. He tightens his grip on Jonathan's waist slightly and feels the slight chuckle Jonathan lets out in the rise and fall of his chest beneath his head. He manages to force his eyes open and blearily glances up at him. "Why you watching me sleep?" He murmurs, voice still throaty from sleep. 

The hand moves from tracing patterns on his back, to gently threading his fingers through Steve's hair. "You look cute when you're asleep." He says softly. 

Groaning at this, Steve scrunches up his face and tries to hide his face in the crook of Jonathan's arm. He feels the laughter reverberate through him. "It's too early for this." He mumbles into Jonathan's skin. 

Feeling movement in the body beneath him, Steve murmurs in discontent and tightens his grip on him, arms and legs thrown over Jonathan like a koala. "Such a clingy cuddler." He teases. Steve just grunts in response. Jonathan kisses his forehead affectionately. "You are going to have to get off me soon though." Jonathan says.

"Why?" Steve whines, only clinging tighter to him. 

Rolling his eyes, Jonathan looks down at him. "You want my mom to see us like this?" He teases, hand still threading through Steve's hair, making it even more of a bed head. 

Shrugging, Steve just closes his eyes again. "Your mom's cool. She knows I'm into a dude, I don't think she'd be that shocked" He murmurs, interrupting himself with a yawn halfway through. 

Sitting up slightly and disturbing Steve's spot on his chest, Jonathan looks at him in shock. "When did you come out to my mom?" He exclaims in surprise. 

Giving him a glare for moving, Steve shuffles over the bed slightly so he can sit up next to Jonathan. Knowing there's no way he will let him go back to sleep now. "Fuck I don't know, when you were still mad at me." Steve tells him, scratching his head in thought. 

Still staring at him in confusion, Jonathan opens his mouth to say something but he can't form the words. "Why?" He eventually gets out. 

Shrugging, Steve leans against his shoulder. "She was worried about me. I didn't tell her it was you, just that we'd fallen out over it." He explains sleepily. 

Smiling softly, Jonathan puts his arm around Steve's shoulders. "Thanks." He says quietly. Steve presses a light kiss to Jonathan's neck in response. 

They lie like that for a while, until Jonathan shuffles again. "Do you want to tell them?" He asks. 

Shrugging again, Steve yawns. "Up to you baby." He murmurs. Jonathan hums in response, staring at nothing while he ponders the question. 

Knocking at the door, makes both of them jump. "Are you two decent? Mom says breakfast is ready!" Will calls out through the door. Once they hear the footsteps of Will running back down the hallway to get to his food, they look at each other in shock.

Noticing the flush on Jonathan's cheeks has spread down his exposed chest, he chuckles. "I think it might be too late to not tell them." Steve says. Jonathan laughs, head sinking onto Steve's chest. "And now we really need to get up, I am starving!" He says, making Jonathan groan at the thought of getting up. 

With much effort they manage to untangle their limbs and get themselves out of bed. As they do Steve can't help but eye up Jonathan as he walks over to his closet in just his boxers. Searching the floor, he manages to find their jeans in a pile on the floor by the bed. He pulls his own on and throws the other pair at Jonathan. He turns and glares at him when they hit him on the back, but pulls them on gratefully. Opening his drawers Jonathan pulls on the closest t-shirt and turns to see Steve looking around the room in confusion. "What are you looking for?" Jonathan asks, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

Interrupting his search he looks up, "I can't find my shirt." He says, trying to hold back laughter. 

At the sight of Steve standing in his room shirtless, looking lost, he starts to laugh. Steve pouts at him. Jonathan gives the room a quick scan and then quickly gives up. He pulls the drawer back open and rummages through it until he finds his Talking Heads t-shirt, and throws that at Steve with a laugh. Steve looks at the top and then at Jonathan looking unimpressed. "What? You'd rather have breakfast with my family shirtless?" Jonathan teases. 

Flushing at the thought, Steve pulls the top on over his head. "You're lucky I like you." He grumbles. Smirking, Jonathan goes over to him and gives him a kiss. Then as they are both dressed, they make their way out of the privacy of Jonathan's room into the kitchen. 

As they round the corner, Jonathan sees Will going to steal a pancake off of what is presumably his or Steve's plate. "Don't you dare!" He calls out, making Will quickly pull his fork back and gives him an innocent look. 

"Morning boys." Joyce says, ruffling Jonathan's hair as he sits next to Will. Steve cautiously sits down opposite Jonathan. "Sleep well?" She asks, putting more pancakes down on the plates in front of them. 

They both flush slightly, making Will snigger at them. Jonathan quickly elbows him to shut him up. "Yes thanks Mom." Jonathan says, glaring at Will to stop him saying anything. 

Somehow Steve has already consumed a whole pancake before Jonathan has even touched his. "How was Mike's?" Steve asks, with an almost teasing smile that he doesn't understand. 

Choking sounds come from Will as he tries to clear his throat of a mouthful of pancake. Joyce steps over and thumps him on the back a couple times. After a minute his coughing calms down. "Sorry, went down the wrong way." He croaks. Jonathan notices Will give Steve a glare and Steve looks much too smug, but Jonathan can't figure out what the joke is. 

Putting her own plate of pancakes down, Joyce sits down next to Steve. "So how's work been love?" She asks. He looks at Jonathan, who just tilts his head towards his mom and lightly kicks his shins under the table.

In surprise he looks up and sees Joyce is looking at him. "Ooh! Alright thanks. Keith, my manager, has been ill all week so I've had to pick up a bunch of overtime, but he's back now so I finally get a day off." He says slightly awkwardly, smiling at the thought of the whole day free to do whatever he wants. 

She smiles. "That's good, you two can catch up a bit then?" She says with a knowing look. Jonathan and Steve share a look, eyes widening nervously. 

She looks away from them and grabs the bottle of syrup off the table. Jonathan takes a deep breath of relief, but after a moment feels his stomach sink slightly in disappointment. He takes in the way Steve has just slotted into his family and feels that warmth in his stomach grow. Before he can even process what he's doing, words are forming. "Yea I missed him." He says, sounding slightly croaky from holding the words inside. 

His mom looks at him with a soft smile and meets his eyes, gently waiting to see if he wants to expand on that without pushing. "Aw look who's getting sappy." Will teases. 

Glaring at him half heartedly, Steve rolls his eyes. "Shut up shithead, you love me." He says affectionately. 

"Language Steve." Joyce corrects, sounding more amused at their antics than offended. 

Steve gasps in horror. "Sorry Mrs Byers." He says, his expression turning mortified. She chuckles and pats his shoulder. 

"Anyway… I'm allowed to be sappy… he is my boyfriend after all…" Jonathan stutters out, eyes flitting to Steve. He sees a look of surprise, which quickly morphs into happiness. His mom reaches out to grab both of their hands in hers, looking at Jonathan with pride. 

Scoffing, Will makes them all jump slightly. "Great, so does that mean we can stop pretending you two are just friends." He says teasingly. Jonathan tries to kick him under the table but misses, a laugh bubbling up out of relief. 

"I'm happy for you. Both of you." Joyce says, squeezing both their hands tightly. Jonathan feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders and he can't help grinning like an idiot. 

"Thank you Joyce." Steve says, voice filled with emotion. 

She lets go of their hands and pinches Steve's cheeks. "Oh honey. I told you we were family and I meant it." Joyce tells him. Jonathan can see Steve is almost crying and after a moment's hesitation, he realises he can hold his hand now, so he does. Steve squeezes his hand gratefully. 

Putting his fork down loudly on his plate, Will picks up his plate and scrapes his chair back. "Gross, you're going to be one of those couples aren't you?" Will says, putting his plate in the sink and turning to leave the kitchen. 

Blinking away the moisture in his eyes, Steve grins and chases after Will. "Ah don't be like that, I'll still have time to hang out with you!" He exclaims, wrapping his arm around Will's shoulders and almost pulls him into a headlock. Will laughs as he tries to wriggle his way out. 

Jonathan rolls his eyes at their antics and goes to the sink to wash the breakfast stuff up. As he runs the water, his mom comes up next to him with the tea towel. They stand next to each other and Jonathan starts to wash the plates off. "So what happened then?" Joyce asks softly. Jonathan turns to look at her in confusion. "You two were fighting, Steve was scared." She explains. 

Sighing, Jonathan feels his stomach drop at the thought of how Steve must have been feeling during that time. "Yea… I thought he was dating Robin and I didn't think it was right." He tells her awkwardly. 

Glancing over at Steve and Will wrestling in the living room, she gives Jonathan a sly smile. "Well good for you, sticking up for yourself." She says proudly. "Even if you did manage to miss that that boy is crazy about you!" She teases, leaning in close to Jonathan. He flushes and looks down at the sink, trying to just focus on washing the plates. "We will have to have a Talk about it all later though." She tells him.

Somehow he feels himself blush even more, his cheeks heating up. "Mom!" He whines. 

Giving him a stern look, she tuts. "Don't complain at me, I think I'm being very lax about the fact your boyfriend slept over here last night without my knowledge." She tells him. 

Knowing that he won't win this, Jonathan decides to concede the point before he gets on her bad side. "Fine Mom. But remember we've already had That Talk." He says, cringing at the memory of that awkward conversation. 

She chuckles. "I know. But certain… elements, are different now than when you were with Nancy." She teases, looking over at Steve. Stomach dropping in horror, he looks at his mom with wide eyes. She side eyes him. "Don't look at me like that, I just want you two to be safe." She says. 

Having just finished washing everything up, he turns to his mom. "Okay fine. Are we done now?" He asks, itching to get out of this conversation. 

Rolling her eyes, she nods. "Go on then." She says, ruffling his hair as he makes a break for it with a wide grin. Jonathan quickly escapes the kitchen and gratefully sinks into Steve's waiting arms on the sofa. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So apparantly the Talking heads shirt was worn by Elio in Call me by your name, so you know, clearly a gay shirt ;) 
> 
> As also feedback makes my day x


	20. Say Something

The bell dings as he enters the shop and he gets deja vu for all the shifts he's worked here. He looks up at the counter, seeing Robin looking incredibly bored and Keith animatedly talking about something. He saunters up to them. "Hi! …oh it's just you dingus." Robin calls out, voice quickly dropping out of her customer voice. "What are you doing here?" She asks, slouching back down onto the counter. 

Rolling his eyes, he leans on the counter in front of her. "Well hello to you too." He teases. She puts her middle finger up at him and smiles at him. "I need a copy of Back to the Future for Will and the gang, because apparently that's my job now." He says in amusement. 

When Robin looks at him blankly, Keith sighs and gets up from behind the counter to get it from the shelf. A minute later he drops it on the counter in front of Steve. "You should really know this one? It was huge at the cinema recently? ...time travelling car? ...the kid interrupts his parents meeting and sets them up?" Keith explains to Robin, looking frustrated when he only gets blank looks from the two of them. 

Gasping in realisation, Robin puts her hand over her mouth to stop from laughing. "Oh my god, it's the one where the mom makes out with her son!" She exclaims amid giggles. 

It takes a second for Steve to place the film, but once he does he gasps in amusement as well. "You mean, it's what was on in the theatre when we… er…" he says trailing off as his eyes flit from Robin to Keith. 

Scrunching up his face in disgust, Keith cuts him off. "Gross. I do not need to know what you did in that theatre. Please just pay and leave." Keith tells him, glaring at Steve. 

Dutifully Steve hands over the money and smirks at Robin. He shoves the video in his backpack and pats Robin's shoulder. "Good luck." He whispers jokily into her ear, mostly to piss Keith off. 

Swatting at him in annoyance, Robin laughs. "Fuck you." She exclaims, knowing that she's got to put up with Keith in his mood all shift, unlike Steve. 

With a wink, Steve grins at her. "Not at work sweetheart." He jokes, quickly jumping out of her reach. He gives her a cheery wave, as she continues to swear profusely at him. 

Keith interrupts her tirade with a sigh. "Stop flirting with the idiot and do some work." He tells her, making Steve cackle as he leaves the store. 

He quickly makes the drive to the Byer's house and pulls up outside. He pushes open the door and gets a grunt in greeting from Will, who is currently intently playing Pong on the Atari. Jonathan looks up from next to him and abandons the game to greet him. "Hey." He says, giving Steve a soft kiss. 

Various beeping from the Atari tells them that Will has won. "Yes! Sucker!" Will calls over to Jonathan competitively. 

Spinning out of Steve's grasp, Jonathan stares down Will. "Only because I stopped playing!" He argues. Will sticks his tongue out at him and continues celebrating his victory. 

Chuckling, Steve pulls the requested video out of his backpack and puts it on the coffee table in front of Will. "There you go shithead. One video rental." He says, as he shrugs his backpack and shoes off and dumps them by the door. 

"Thanks Steve!" Will says brightly, his competition with Jonathan forgotten. 

Grabbing Steve's hand, Jonathan tugs him gently back towards the hall. "Right well, let your friends in when they get here. If you need us, we'll be in my room." He tells Will, slowly inching his way out of the room. 

Shrugging, Will turns back towards his game, but just before they leave he turns back to them. "Oh you should probably know. Mike, Dustin and Lucas think you two are hiding something from them." He calls over to them. 

Freezing in the hallway, they both turn back to Will. Steve gives him a questioning look. "As in… they know about this?" He asks, gesturing between him and Jonathan.

Will lets out a startled laugh. "Oh no, they are blind to that!" He says, chuckling away. "Nah, they think you're plotting against Russians and monsters or something." He adds. 

Sharing a look of confusion, they glance from each other to Will, trying to decide if he is joking. "Seriously?" Steve asks and Will nods in amusement. Rolling his eyes, Steve sighs. "Right, whatever, I'll have a word with them later." He mutters, trailing off as he drags Jonathan off towards his bedroom. 

They hear beeps from the Atari, suggesting that Will has gone back to his game before Steve shuts the bedroom door behind them, cutting off the sound. "What are you gonna do? Tell them about us?" Jonathan asks cautiously, once he's got over the surprise of being pulled down his own hallway. 

After letting out a long sigh, Steve let's his head fall back against the closed door, making Jonathan stumble a step closer to keep holding his hand. "No idea." Steve says softly. 

They stand in silence for a minute. Jonathan groans and sinks against Steve, face smushed into the nook by his neck. "We can't let them think there's monsters about." Jonathan says reluctantly. Steve wraps his arms around Jonathan's waist, and starts stroking up his back. 

Staring up at the ceiling, Steve bites his lip in thought. "I guess it would be nice to tell Dustin." Steve says slowly. Tensing slightly at the thought of more people knowing.

Picking his head up off of Steve's chest, Jonathan looks at him and smiles jokingly. "Well we know they've kept government secrets about monsters, so this is going to be nothing in comparison." He teases. Steve lets out a startled laugh and relaxes his tense muscles. Leaning up, Jonathan plants a kiss on Steve's lips with a grin and then walks further into his room. Steve watches him from the door, as he puts a record on and then collapses onto his bed. He scoots over when Steve walks over to join him. They lie there letting the music wash over them, their shoulders and legs pressed together on the small bed. Jonathan turns his head to the side to look at Steve. "Why do we always end up in my bed, when you have the double?" He asks with a grin. 

Chuckling under his breath, Steve smirks. "Yours is cosier." He says, rolling over so that he is lying half on top of Jonathan. Leaning down to kiss him, Steve lets out a surprised huff when Jonathan flips them, so that he is stradling Steve on the bed. 

Staring up at him with darkened eyes, Steve's hand goes up to wrap in his hair and pull him down into a kiss. As they make out, Jonathan shifts his weight slightly to get more comfortable. Unfortunately, as they are on the edge of the bed, this unbalances him and he tumbles onto the floor. Steve cackles with laughter as Jonathan stares up at him from the floor in surprise. "You still think the extra space wouldn't be worth it?" Jonathan says flatly. Steve reaches out a hand to pull him back up, chuckling all the while. They hear the front door bang open and the excited chatter of teenagers filters through to their room. Closing his eyes and sinking his head back against the pillow, Jonathan sighs. "Plus, empty house." He says, glancing over to smirk at Steve. 

Rolling his eyes at him, Steve grins. "I suppose you could come to mine next." He says. Jonathan just shakes his head at him in amusement. As the noise from the living room begins to settle, Steve glances over at Jonathan. "We should probably go out and say hello." He says reluctantly. 

Scoffing, Jonathan smirks. "They're your friends, not mine." He jokes. Steve goes to wrestle him but after watching Jonathan fall once already today, he quickly gives it up. Clamouring over Jonathan, Steve gets up and offers a hand to help him up. Jonathan just stares at him blankly, not moving. Steve pouts, giving him the puppy dog eyes and it doesn't take long before Jonathan gives in, pulling himself up with Steve's hand. Brushing off his clothes, Jonathan runs a hand through his hair trying to make sure he doesn't look like he's been rolling about in bed. Steve does the same, gives Jonathan a quick kiss and then pulls the door open and saunters down the hall. 

Following behind him, Jonathan comes out into the living room to see Steve perched on the arm of the sofa greeting all the kids. He gives them a quick wave and then heads into the kitchen to get a drink. When he comes back, he sees Steve and Will happily chatting about the film he rented for them, with Mike and Lucas interrupting to enthusiastically share their opinions as well. Dustin however, is almost glaring at Steve from across the room. "Why are you even here Steve?" Dustin demands, effectively ending the discussion already going on. Mike gives him an frustrated look. 

Steve just looks dumbfounded for a minute. "Oh." He says, breaking the heavy silence. "Sorry… Me and Jonathan can get out of your hair if you want…" he says, trying and failing to keep the hurt out of his voice. Mike and Lucas look at each other in concern. Dustin lets out a cry of frustration and storms out of the living room, slamming the front door closed behind him. Silence falls as they all stare at the door in shock. Will nudges Steve in the side and gives him a meaningful look, then clearly looking between Steve and Jonathan. Understanding sinks in and he feels a mixture of relief and fear jumble together in his stomach. He nods and pats Will on the shoulder, then follows Dustin out into the front. 

Luckily he hasn't gone far and is just sat on the porch steps kicking the dusty soil around with his shoe. Steve carefully closes the door behind him and slowly walks over to sit beside him. Dustin sullenly stares out across the drive, not looking at Steve. "Will mentioned that you think there are evil monsters or Russians or something running around now." Steve says, when it becomes clear that Dustin isn't going to say anything. 

Kicking the ground aggressively, Dustin let's out a sigh. "Knew he couldn't keep a secret." He mutters. 

"He was trying to help." Steve says softly. Dustin just grunts in response, still staring down at the dirt. "It's not true you know? At least as far as I know." He tells him. 

Scoffing, Dustin finally looks up at him. "So what, I'm supposed to believe you and Jonathan are just friends now?! I don't believe it. You're lying to me about something!" He says angrily. 

Running his hand through his hair in frustration, Steve sighs. "Okay. We're not just friends, you are right about that. But we're not plotting to save the world or any of that shit." He explains slowly. 

Looking at him in curiosity more than anger now, Dustin raises an eyebrow at him. "So why are you two spending so much time together?" He asks. 

There's a pause, while Steve tries to work up the nerve to get the words out. He opens his mouth but no sounds come out. He swallows and tries again. "We're dating." He finally says quietly. 

After staring at him intently, Dustin cocks his head to the side, trying to read Steve's expression. "You like guys?" He asks cautiously. Steve nods, trying to stay calm and be patient. "And girls?" Dustin adds, getting another nod from Steve. "Huh." He says, lost in thought for a minute. 

"Are you okay with that?" Steve asks cautiously, finding Dustin's expression to be very hard to read. 

Snapping out of his daze, Dustin looks up at him in surprise. "Oh yea. I don't care who you date." He says, sounding completely unbothered by the revelation. Steve grins and finally let's out the breath he'd been holding. 

He tenses up again, when Dustin starts to laugh. "What?" Steve says, completely lost as to what has caused the change in behaviour in him. 

Shoulders shaking from laughter, it takes Dustin a few minutes to compose himself enough to get any words out. "Sorry, sorry! It's just… in order to figure out what threat we were facing, we considered setting up surveillance on you two." He explains amid laughter. Steve just stares at him in shock and growing horror. "And I'm really glad we didn't." Dustin adds, laughing even harder as he leaps up and runs out of Steve's reach. 

"DUSTIN!" Steve exclaims, chasing after him. "COME BACK HERE!" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! It's finally complete, hallelujah! Couple points:  
1\. The whole concept of this fic came from the idea of the kids thinking they were plotting when actually they were making out, but I got carried away with their story!  
2\. I may come back this at some point to do a sequel where Robin and Steve have a flat together, but I'm not sure.  
3\. I really hope you all enjoyed this story, let me know what you think!

**Author's Note:**

> So I wasn't really planning on writing another story but now I have about 5 chapters written, so I guess this is happening? Feedback gives me life so let me know what you think!


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